MEMORIAL  SKETCHES. 


HEMAN    HUMPHREY. 
SOPHIA  PORTER   HUMPHREY. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT    &    CO. 

1869. 


LIPPINCOTT'S  PRESS,   PHILADELPHIA. 


HEMAN  HUMPHREY. 


TO     THE     GRANDCHILDREN     OF     HEMAN      AND 
SOPHIA    PORTER    HUMPHREY. 


\~\  7" HEN,  in  1861,  your  grandfather  died,  his 
sons  projected  an  extended  Memoir  of  his 
life  and  times.  The  execution  of  the  project  was 
delayed  by  the  ill-health  of  two  of  those  by  whom 
the  work  was  assumed.  Then  came  the  civil  war, 
which  so  completely  absorbed  the  public  attention 
that  we  felt  constrained  to  wait  until  a  more  tranquil 
period  for  a  hearing :  our  story  was  too  quiet  for 
stormy  times.  Then  death  deprived  us  of  the  most 
graceful  pen  upon  which  we  had  relied.  Then  the 
whole  work  was  committed  to  the  son-in-law  whose 
initials  are  here  appended.  He  had  scarcely  gath- 
ered his  materials  when  the  grandmother  followed 
her  husband  into  the  other  world.  Then  the  Me- 

1*  5 


6  To    the    Grandchildren. 

moir  was  laid  aside  for  the  present  Memorial, 
which,  though  it  be  but  an  imperfect  outline  of 
two  precious  lives,  is,  at  least,  better  than  a  mere 
monumental  inscription.  Its  familiar  cast  will,  we 
hope,  make  it  more  acceptable  to  you  than  any 
statelier  delineation  could  be.  Should  no  elaborate 
memoir  of  either  grandparent  ever  be  printed,  this 
will  remind  you  of  ancestral  virtues,  and  teach  you 
of  that  which  makes  one's  life  a  priceless  legacy. 

Z.  M.  H. 

H.  N. 


HEMAN    HUMPHREY. 


I. 

A  PERFECT  biography  can  never  be  written  : 
•L*-  an  outline  of  a  human  life  can  be  drawn,  but 
it  will  be  scarcely  better  than  one  of  the  first  rude 
sketches  of  a  master  in  art — distinct,  but  wanting 
in  that  detail  which  is  essential  to  the  finished 
picture.  A  perfect  portrait,  indeed,  is  impossible, 
though  the  artist  should  exhaust  the  resources  of 
form  and  color.  The  painter  works  to  an  ideal ; 
and  when  he  has  succeeded  in  the  expression  of 
that  ideal,  he  has  left  unexpressed  very  much  which 
characterizes  his  subject.  The  biographer  has  this 
advantage  :  that  he  may  present  a  series  of  sketches, 
a  gallery  of  portraits,  representing  his  subject  in 
varying  moods  and  under  varying  conditions  ;  but 
he  can  never  reproduce  the  innumerable  touches 
of  detail  which  are  essential  to  the  perfection  of 
each  of  his  sketches. 

The  Memorial  herein  presented,  does  not  profess 


8  H eman   Humphrey. 

to  be  even  a  biography.  It  is  roughly  and  imper- 
fectly drawn,  rather  as  a  suggestion  than  as  a  com- 
pleted work.  It  is  a  memorial  to  those  for  whom 
it  is  prepared,  because  reminding  them  of  a  life 
with  which  they  were  familiar.  They  will  readily 
supply,  from  their  own  memories,  many  of  the  de- 
tails which  are  omitted.  Thus  the  life  may  stand 
out  to  them  in  much  of  its  rounded  beauty,  how- 
ever imperfect  may  be  the  memorial  in  itself  con- 
sidered. 

We  are  fortunate  in  having  the  materials  of  our 
present  work  abundantly  provided  in  posthumous 
papers,  among  the  most  important  of  which  are 
somewhat  voluminous  autobiographical  sketches, 
whose  fresh  tints  will  be  continually  employed. 
These  sketches  were  written  by  their  author  in 
leisure  hours,  near  the  close  of  his  life,  at  the  re- 
quest of  his  children.  They  were  composed  in  no 
ambitious  mood,  but  in  that  of  a  man  sitting  down 
in  the  evening  of  his  days  to  talk  with  his  family 
of  the  incidents  of  his  career.  This  will  appear  in 
the  style  which  clothes  the  quotations  we  shall  make 
from  them.  They  are  to  us  the  more  charming  on 
account  of  their  homely  simplicity.  Indeed,  \ve 
would  be  glad  to  retain  the  familiar  quality  of  the 
fireside  talk  in  all  these  pages,  for  they  are  intended 
only  for  partial  eyes.  Should  they  be  read  by  any 


A   Representative  Life.  9 

to  whom  their  subject  was  unknown,  this  intention 
will  not  be  forgotten.  Read  in  the  spirit  in  which 
it  was  prepared,  this  memorial  may  perhaps  give 
any  one  some  vivid  impressions  of  a  life  whose  per- 
fect record  is  in  heaven  only  ;  the  whole  of  whose 
earthly  influences  can  no  more  be  traced  by  us,  than 
can  those  of  a  stream,  which  runs  into  the  countless 
leaves  and  fruits  it  nourishes  along  its  course,  as 
well  as  into  the  broad  sea  in  which  it  loses  itself  at 
last. 

II. 

THE  life  of  HEMAN  HUMPHREY  may  be  consid- 
ered as  a  representative  life.  It  covered  a 
period  of  transition.  It  began  when  society  in 
New  England  bore  the  type  of  Puritan  culture. 
It  ended  when  that  type  had  almost  disappeared  in 
the  American  culture  of  to-day.  It  began  when  a 
clergyman's  parish  was  a  township — when,  .in  many 
villages,  all  were  taxed  for  the  support  of  the  Gos- 
pel, irrespective  of  creed.  The  "meeting-house" 
of  the  day  was  a  central  rallying-spot  and  the  focus 
of  influence.  The  "minister"  had  all  interests — 
religious,  social,  educational,  and  even  political — 
very  much  under  his  control.  He  was  regarded 
by  all  with  a  respect  and  reverence  at  present 
rarely  accorded  to  his  successors.  In  that  day  the 


io  Hcnian   Humphrey. 

"  ti thing-man  "  was  an  important  functionary  in  the 
house  of  God.  With  a  long  staff  in  hand,  he  busied 
himself  during  the  hours  of  worship  in  controlling 
the  too-wakeful  children  in  the  gallery,  and  in 
arousing  the  too-drowsy  adults  in  the  pews  "be- 
low." An  hour-glass  often  stood  upon  the  pulpit, 
and  was  solemnly  turned  by  the  preacher  as  he  be- 
gan his  sermon.  It  was  frequently  .turned  again 
before  he  had  ended.  The  square  pews  of  the 
"  meeting-house"  were  uncarpeted  and  uncushioned. 
The  seats  were  hinged,  so  that  when  the  audience 
rose  for  prayer,  the  wooden  leaves  could  be  raised 
and  thrown  back  against  the  high  parapets  of  the 
pews.  No  heating  apparatus  except  the  "  foot- 
stove"  was  allowed  in  the  sanctuary.  A  modern 
furnace  would  then  have  been  considered  no  less  a 
heresy  than  an  organ  in  the  place  of  public  wor- 
ship. A  shelter  from  wind  and  storm,  was  luxury 
enough  for  those  whose  ancestors  first  offered  their 
public  devotions  under  the  pine  trees  of  Plymouth 
in  the  winter  season. 

The  dwellings  of  those  days  were  generally  plain, 
if  not  absolutely  rude.  The  more  substantial  farm- 
houses were  framed  with  solid  timbers.  An  idea 
of  the  prevailing  style  of  domestic  architecture  may 
still  be  gained  by  the  traveler  in  New  England,  from 
some  weatherbeaten  structure,  covered  by  a  "  gam- 


Birth   and  Ancestry.  n 

brel"  roof,  sloping  backward  at  the  rear  almost  to  the 
ground.  The  sides,  as  well  as  the  roofs  of  these 
old  houses,  were  often  protected  by  shingles,  thus 
reminding  one  of  Norman  soldiers  encased  in  scale- 
plated  armor.  The  kitchen,  with  its  wide  fireplace, 
was  the  favorite  resort  of  the  family.  The  "  keep- 
ing-room" was  used  in  the  later  hours  of  the  day. 
The  parlor  was  opened  only  upon  "  state  occasions." 
The  loom  occupied  some  convenient  corner,  and 
the  spinning-wheel  was  always  ready  to  be  set  in 
the  firelight  of  winter,  or  in  the  shades  of  summer. 
Many  glimpses  of  prevailing  habits  and  ideas  will 
be  gained  by  those  who  glance  through  the  follow- 
ing pages.  So  also,  the  gradual  change  which 
those  habits  and  ideas  underwent  in  the  progress  of 
a  long  life,  will  be  observed. 

III. 

TTEMAN  HUMPHREY  was  born  in  West 
*-  -•-  Simsbury,  now  Canton,  Hartford  county, 
Connecticut,  March  26,  1779.  His  father's  name 
was  SOLOMON  HUMPHREY,  descended  in  direct  line 
from  MICHAEL  HUMPHREY,  who  came  to  this 
country  from  England  some  time  previous  to  1643, 
and  among  whose  numerous  relatives  and  descend- 
ants are  found  many  of  distinguished  name  ;  such  as 


12  Heman   Humphrey. 

Thomas  Dudley,  Governor  of  the  Massachusetts 
Colony  for  seventeen  years,  and  William  Leete, 
Governor  and  Deputy  Governor  for  many  years  of 
the  New  Haven  Colony.  "  Piety  and  integrity  are 
general  characteristics  of  those  in  this  line  of  de- 
scent, whose  names  have  never  become  famous." 
In  1647,  Michael  Humphrey,  having  then  become  a 
resident  of  Windsor,  Connecticut,  married  PRIS- 
CILLA  GRANT,  daughter  of  a  merchant  of  Windsor. 
Of  seven  children,  born  of  this  marriage,  SAMUEL 
was  the  third:  born,  1656.  He  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Mills,  and  died  in  1736,  aged 
eighty  years.  His  third  son,  JONATHAN,  married 
MARY,  daughter  of  Rev.  Benjamin  Ruggles,  of 
Suffield.  From  this  marriage  descended  SOLOMON, 
third  son,  who  settled  in  West  Simsbury,  and  there 
married  NAOMI,  daughter  of  Brewster  Higley.  The 
third  son  of  Solomon  Humphrey  bore  his  own 
name.  He  was  born  in  1747,  and  married  a  second 
wife,  HANNAH,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  Brown,  of 
West  Simsbury.  The  first  issue  of  this  marriage 
was  HEMAN,  the  subject  of  this  memorial. 

When  the  historic  Mayflower  cast  anchor  in 
Plymouth  harbor,  December,  1620,  on  the  list  of 
her  passengers  stood  the  name  of  PETER  BROWN. 
To  this  member  of  that  famous  band  of  emigrants 
was  born  a  son,  to  whom  he  gave  his  own  name. 


77/5   L  in  cage .  1 3 

This  son  is  believed  to  have  left  Plymouth  with  a 
colony  of  settlers  who  removed  to  what  became 
the  Windsor  alluded  to  above.  A  tombstone  still 
standing  in  the  town  of  Old  Windsor  bears  the 
name  of  Peter  Brown,  and  a  date  (1692)  which 
corresponds  with  our  theory.  A  tradition  cherished 
in  the  family  lends  corroborative  evidence.  From 
the  last-named  PETER  BROWN,  was  descended  the 
mother  of  Heman  Humphrey. 

Her  father,  Capt.  John  Brown,  died  in  the  ser- 
vice of  his  country  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
having  hastened  with  his  company  of  volunteers  to 
the  defence  of  New  York.  He  expired  in  camp 
on  Haarlem  Heights,  June,  1776,  aged  forty-eight 
years. 

Hannah  was  the  eldest  of  his  children,  and  at  his 
death  was  eighteen  years  of  age.  The  widow  was 
left  in  stinted  circumstances,  on  a  rough  farm,  with 
eleven  children.  She  was,  however,  a  woman  of 
remarkable  strength  of  character,  and  exhibited  an 
uncommon  degree  of  energy,  fortitude  and  discre- 
tion in  conducting  her  farm  and  in  rearing  her 
children  during  the  trying  period  of  the  war. 

Solomon  Humphrey,  the  husband  of  Hannah,  is 
described  as  a  man  of  "  good  common-school  edu- 
cation ;  of  a  more  than  ordinary  taste  for  reading ; 
of  good  sense  and  unblemished  moral  character, 
2 


14  Heman   Humphrey. 

temperate,  industrious  and  frugal."  He  resided  in 
West  Simsbury  until  1755,  at  which  time  he  re- 
moved to  Bristol ;  thence  in  1813  to  Barkhamstead, 
where  he  died  in  1834.  His  occupation  was  that 
of  a  farmer.  He  had  a  numerous  family  of  chil- 
dren— fourteen  in  all.  Three  of  them  died  in  early 
childhood.  Eleven  of  them  lived  to  adult  age, 
several  still  surviving.  Their  names  are  HORACE 
and  SOLOMON,  born  of  his  first  wife;  HEMAN, 
LUCY,  LUTHER,  CLARINDA,  CANDACE,  NAOMI, 
HANNAH,  ELECTA  and  HARRIET. 

The  mother  of  this  large  family  was  a  woman 
of  uncommon  mental  capacity,  and  eagerly  read 
such  books  as  could  be  obtained.  The  number  of 
these,  however,  was  very  small.  "  For  years  we 
had  not  half  a  dozen  on  the  shelf,  except  the  Bible, 
the  Assembly's  Catechism  and  the  spelling-book." 
She  did  what  she  could  for  the  education  of  her 
children,  and  did  not  fail  to  instruct  them  in  that 
standard  compend  of  doctrine — the  Catechism — each 
Sunday,  "  after  meeting." 

IV. 

r  I  "'HE  first  seminary  into  which  Heman  was  intro- 
-*•     duced  was  a  barn.     It  was,  however,  in  sum- 
mer days.     The  flail  stood  in  the  corner,  and  the 


Early   Education.  15 

swallows  made  nests  for  themselves  among  the 
rafters.  The  little  scholar  was  perched  upon  a  high 
bench,  and  learned  the  alphabet  and  some  of  Dr. 
Watts' Hymns  for  Infant  Minds.  "I  have  a  dim 
recollection  of  acting  in  an  infant  dialogue  prepared 
for  the  entertainment  of  visitors." 

He  was  about  six  years  of  age  when  his  father 
removed  to  Bristol.  There  the  opportunities  afforded 
for  instruction  were  slender.  For  three  years  the 
mother  taught  the  little  ones  as  she  had  time,  her 
manuals  being  Dilworth's  Spelling-Book  and  the 
Bible.  The  story  of  David  and  Goliath  was  one  of 
the  first  of  her  Scripture  lessons.  Then  followed 
the  twelfth  chapter  of  Ecclesiastes,  which  young 
Heman  committed  to  memory. 

"When  I  was  nine  or  ten  years  old,  we  had  a 
winter  school  (as  it  was  called),  kept  by  a  neighbor, 
for  a  few  weeks,  in  his  own  house.  He  was  a 
small  farmer,  of  no  education,  and  of  the  very 
flattest  Yankee  pronunciation.  His  shaggy  eye- 
brows, his  frown,  his  heavy  stamp,  which  made  the 
rickety  floor  tremble,  and  his  rude  '  ferule,'  are 
about  the  only  things  of  his  administration  which  I 
remember.  The  next  winter,  another  neighbor, 
more  skilled  in  catching  trout  than  in  teaching,  took 
the  pedagogical  chair.  He  had  a  little  smattering 
of  common-school  learning ;  but  was,  if  possible,  a 


1 6  Pieman    Humphrey. 

still  flatter  Yankee  than  his  predecessor.  Of  thin 
visage,  sharp  voice,  and  with  long  birch  whip  and 
heavy  ferule,  he  tried  to  keep  us  in  order,  to  lead  us 
along  in  '  Dilworth,'  and  to  teach  some  of  the  older 
boys  the  art  of  writing.  To  do  him  justice,  he  was 
a  very  good  penman  for  those  times.  As  paper  was 
scarce  and  dear,  he  used  white  birch-bark  for  his 
'  copies.' " 

A  better  teacher  was  Mr.  Simeon  Hart,  to  whom 
Heman  was  sent  in  his  thirteenth  year.  In  Mr. 
Hart's  school  he  passed  four  successive  winters, 
when  he  supposed  he  had  finished  his  education. 
How  complete  that  education  was,  we  may  under- 
stand when  we  hear  him  say,  "  I  knew  almost 
nothing  of  geography  as-  taught  by  globe  and  map, 
was  but  indifferently  versed  in  the  higher  rules  of 
arithmetic,  and  knew  nothing  of  English  grammar, 
except  a  little  found  in  one  of  the  earlier  editions  of 
Webster's  Spelling-Book.  I  had  never  parsed  a 
sentence.  Thus  scantily  furnished,  I  expected  to 
go  forth  and  make  my  way  in  some  humble  em- 
ployment. 

"I  was  from  childhood  fond  of  reading;  but  my 
difficulty  was  to  find  anything  to  read,  except  the 
New  England  Primer,  Robinson  Crusoe  and  The 
Pilgrim's  Progress.  We  took  no  newspaper.  In- 
deed, there  was  none  to  take,  except  the  Connccli- 


Farm     Work.  17 

cut  Courant)  which  was  printed  on  a  very  small 
sheet,  and  which  rarely  found  its  way  into  our  retired 
and  humble  parish." 

Before  long,  however,  a  small  library  was  col- 
lected under  the  auspices  of  the  pastor  of  the 
parish.  To  this  our  "  educated"  boy  had  access, 
and  soon  read  many  of  its  volumes,  chiefly  histories, 
by  the  light  of  pine  torches  or  of  the  kitchen  fire. 


V. 

\T7HILE  this  educational  process  was  going  on 
*  *  in  successive  winters,  the  summers  were  oc- 
cupied in  manual  labor  upon  his  father's  farm. 
When  the  education  was  "  finished,"  he  left  home 
and  placed  himself  in  the  employ  of  a  neighbor. 
He  was  then  seventeen  years  of  age.  It  indicates 
his  physical  strength  and  skill  that,  during  this  first 
summer  as  "hired  man,"  he  reaped  and  bound  an 
acre  of  wheat  in  one  day. 

During  the  next  summer  he  was  employed  at 
higher  wages,  by  a  Mr.  Cowles,  of  Farmington  ; 
so  also  during  the  following  summer.  Here  he 
learned  much  of  the  art  of  husbandry.  His  taste 
for  reading  was  gratified  by  the  Connecticut 
Courant.  "  I  well  remember  how  impatiently  I 
used  to  wait  for  the  post-rider  to  bring  it,  and  how 
2*  B 


1 8  Heman    Humphrey. 

eagerly  I  read  it — advertisements  and  all."  Here 
also  he  learned  his  first  lessons  in  temperance,  dis- 
covering that  he  could  endure  the  heat  and  toil  of 
the  harvest-field  better  without  alcoholic  drinks  than 
with  them. 

His  fourth  summer  away  from  home  was  spent 
with  Governor  Tread  well,  of  Farmington.  "  I  can 
never  be  sufficiently  thankful  for  the  kind  Provi- 
dence which  gave  me  a  home  in  his  inestimable 
family.  I  now  see  him  as  he  rode  up  to  my  father's 
door,  on  a  fine  horse,  to  engage  me  for  the  summer. 
I  need  not  say  that  he  was  a  Puritan  of  the  old 
school,  and  in  every  way  worthy  to  succeed  Gov- 
ernor Trumbull  in  the  highest  office  in  the  State. 
He  was  not  a  man  of  quick  parts  and  popular 
address ;  but  of  a  clear,  logical,  comprehensive 
mind  and  solid  judgment.  He  was  a  Christian,  and 
an  exceedingly  able  theologian,  as  well  as  an  able 
judge  and  an  incorruptible  statesman.  During  the 
summer  I  spent  in  his  employ,  he  was  one  of  the 
principal  writers  in  the  New  York  Theological 
Magazine;  and  some  of  his  metaphysical  articles 
would  have  done  no  discredit  to  President  Edwards 
himself.  He  was  very  kind  to  me,  and  gave  me 
the  free  use  of  his  library,  which,  though  not  very 
large,  helped  me  to  the  reading  of  many  volumes. 
As  we  went  to  our  work  early  and  returned  early, 


School    Teaching.  ig 

I  had  an  hour  before  dark  almost  every  day  for 
reading.  Occasionally  I  used  to  carry  a  book,  or 
inkstand  and  sheet  of  paper  into  the  field,  and  read 
or  write  a  little,  while  the  cattle  were  '  baiting'  at  the 
*  noon-spell ;'  sometimes  using  the  cart  for  my 
shade,  and  the  '  hind-board'  for  a  desk." 

The  following  summer  was  spent  in  Newington. 
The  summer  succeeding  this,  he  expected  to 
spend  in  the  employ  of  Governor  Treadwell ;  but 
being  detained  in  his  journey  to  Farmington  by  a 
freshet,  he  found,  when  he  reached  the  house  of 
Governor  Treadwell,  that  he  had  already  engaged 
all  the  help  he  desired.  With  inexpressible  disap- 
pointment the  young  farmer  returned  to  his  father's 
home ;  being  led  by  a  way  which  he  knew  not. 

VI. 

THE  intervals  between  these  five  summers  of 
farm-life  were  spent  in  teaching  school.  "My 
first  essay  in  this  line  was  while  in  my  seventeenth 
year.  I  taught  three  months  at  seven  dollars  per 
month,  and  '  boarded  'round.'  My  school  was  held 
in  one  of  the  front  rooms  of  a  one-story  private 
house.  The  other  front  room  and  the  kitchen  were 
in  the  closest  proximity,  so  that  the  pupils  could 
hear  all  that  was  going  on  in  the  family."  The 


2O  Heman   Humphrey. 

three  following  winters  were  spent  in  teaching  in 
three  separate  districts  of  Burlington. 

Thrown  upon  his  own  resources  by  the  failure  of 
his  engagement  with  Governor  Tread  well,  he  was 
encouraged  by  his  pastor,  Rev.  Jonathan  Miller,  to 
occupy  the  summer  in  study.  He  was  then  twenty 
years  old.  Mr.  Miller  volunteered  to  give  him  some 
instruction  in  the  rudiments  of  Latin,  suggesting  the 
hope,  which  seemed  almost  as  wild  as  a  dream,  that 
perhaps  Mr.  Humphrey  might  one  day  become  a 
minister.  A  Latin  grammar  was  procured.  A  little 
knowledge  of  English  syntax  was  acquired,  and  the 
study  of  the  Latin  began.  The  health  of  the 
student  soon  suffered  from  the  confinement  of  unre- 
mitted  application.  Two  months  were  spent  in  the 
harvest-field.  Then  to  study  again.  Then  to 
teaching  through  the  winter.  Then  once  more  to 
the  Latin:  Once  again  to  the  harvest-field.  Once 
more  to  the  school-house  and  to  the  books  of  study. 
And  so  the  process  went  on  until  the  spring  of  1803, 
when  Mr.  Humphrey  was  advised  by  one  of  his 
clerical  friends — in  Harwinton,  where  his  later 
labors  as  teacher  were  pursued — to  make  an  effort 
to  enter  the  Junior  class  of  Yale  College  in  the  suc- 
ceeding autumn. 

Before  following  him  to  that  institution,  we  must 
pause  by  the  path  we  have  been  traversing  to  speak 


The    Teacher's   Disadvantages.  21 

more   at  length  of  his  experiences  in  the  school- 
room and  of  his  religious  development. 


VII. 

*nr^HE  low  standard  of  common-school  instruction 
•*-  in  that  day,  in  Connecticut,  has  already  been 
spoken  of.  Strange  as  it  may  seem,  one  of  the 
teacher's  greatest  difficulties  arose  from  the  magni- 
tude of  the  Common-School  Fund  of  the  State.  This 
Fund,  the  result  of  land  sales  on  the  "Western 
Reserve,"  Ohio,  increased  gradually  to  two  millions 
of  dollars.  Taxes  for  the  support  of  schools  were 
made  lighter  and  lighter,  until  the  people,  learning 
to  depend  upon  the  Fund,  would  not  contribute  even 
to  make  up  its  small  deficiencies.  They  "  began  to 
calculate,  in  many  places,  for  how  many  months  the 
dividends  would  pay  the  teachers,  at  the  lowest 
wages ;  and  to  content  themselves  with  raising  but 
little  by  tax,  subscription,  or  any  other  means." 
Thus,  what  should  have  been  only  a  help,  was, 
through  some  not  very  obscure  law  of  human  nature, 
only  a  hindrance. 

"  Those  who  are  now  young  can  scarcely  con- 
ceive the  disadvantages  under  which  we  labored — 
teachers  and  scholars,  both — a  half  century  ago. 
Webster's  Spelling-Book  and  'Third  Part,'  The 


22  Heman   Humphrey. 

Columbian  Reader  and  Dwight's  small  Geography 
were  about  all  our  class-books.  Such  a  thing  as  a 
blackboard,  or  apparatus  of  any  kind,  was  never 
thought  of.  And  what  shall  I  say  of  the  school- 
houses?  So  small  and  low,  so  miserably  fitted  up 
and  warmed  were  most  of  them,  that  it  was  a  real 
penance  to  be  shut  up  in  them  six  mortal  hours 
each  day.  There  was  not  one  comfortable  seat  for 
the  little  sufferers,  who  were  huddled  together  in  the 
smallest  space,  leaving  scarcely  room  for  the  teach- 
er's table  to  stand  anywhere.  Outside,  there  was 
no  wood-shed ;  not  even  a  screen  of  boards."  All 
shade  trees  had  been  carefully  taken  from  the  vicin- 
ity. "  It  was  not  uncommon,  when  we  came  on  the 
appointed  day  to  open  our  schools,  to  find  every- 
thing in  a  ruinous  condition — doors  off  the  hinges  ; 
glass  out ;  benches  broken  ;  dirt  accumulated  every- 
where ;  perhaps  not  a  stick  of  wood  for  a  fire.  A 
neighbor  or  two  might  be  there  with  hammer  and 
saw,  with  putty  and  three-cornered  pieces  of  tin, 
taking  out  the  windows, mending  the  doors,  the  long 
writing-desks  and  the  slab  benches  ;  promising, 
meanwhile,  that  some  one  should  bring  a  load  of 
firewood  before  night.  Many  a  time,  through  the 
winter,  some  of  us  had  to  dig  out  our  fuel — so 
called — from  beneath  the  snow-drifts,  and  to  set  the 
boys  to  reducing  it  from  «  sled  length'  to  the  proper 


Plans  for  Improvement.  23 

dimensions ;  that  we  might  not  freeze,  if  indeed  the 
'  fuel'  would  burn  when  it  was  prepared.  Some- 
times our  schools  must  be  dismissed  for  a  day  or 
two,  because  we  had  no  wood  at  all." 

Having  all  these  difficulties  to  contend  with,  Mr. 
Humphrey  and  some  of  his  fellow-teachers  in  the 
vicinity,  formed  an  association  for  mutual  improve- 
ment. Few  of  them  had  any  early  advantages 
except  of  the  slenderest  kind.  With  one  exception, 
none  of  them  had  ever  enjoyed  the  instruction 
afforded  by  an  academy,  or  by  any  of  the  higher 
schools  of  the  day.  As  an  association,  they  were 
accustomed  to  spend  an  evening  together  once  in 
two  or  three  weeks.  Their  object  was  to  report 
successes,  discuss  difficulties,  compare  methods  and 
consider  new  plans  of  effort.  At  these  meetings 
they  also  introduced  critical  exercises  in  reading, 
both  in  prose  and  poetry ;  settling  questions  of 
accent  or  pronunciation  by  an  appeal  to  the  highest 
authority  within  their  reach — Webster's  Spelling- 
Book. 

They  also  adopted  the  expedient  of  school  visita- 
tion. The  plan  was,  for  each  teacher  to  suspend  the 
ordinary  exercises  of  his  school  for  half  a  day,  oc- 
casionally, that,  with  his  larger  scholars,  he  might 
visit  some  neighboring  school.  The  visit  was  made 
without  previous  notice ;  and  was  designed  to  give 


24  Hcman   Humphrey. 

the  pupils  an  idea  of  the  relative  excellences  or 
defects  of  all  the  schools  in  the  neighborhood. 

"It  is  difficult  for  any  one  who  has  never  wit- 
nessed it,  to  conceive  the  healthful  emulation  with 
which  it  inspired  both  teachers  and  pupils ;  how 
eagerly  the  visitor-boys  watched  every  movement 
in  the  school ;  how  they  listened  to  every  class 
in  reading  and  spelling ;  and  with  what  interest 
they  talked  about  the  visit  for  days  and  weeks 
afterward." 

Great  efforts  were  made,  also,  to  induce  parents 
and  friends  to  visit  the  schools.  "  Sometimes,  a 
little  notice  would  bring  in  half  the  district  of  an 
afternoon.  When  the  people  grew  remiss,  we  took 
care  to  remind  them  how  much  we  relied  upon  the 
stimulus  of  their  more  frequent  visits  ;  and  such  ap- 
peals were  generally  successful.  In  this  way  we 
kept  up  an  interest  in  our  schools,  which  we  could 
not  have  secured  by  any  other  method." 

"  Then  again,  at  the  close  of  the  winter  schools, 
we  had  what  we  called  our  '  quarter  days,'  when 
we  brought  half  a  dozen  or  more  schools  together  in 
the  meeting-house,  for  exercises  in  spelling,  decla- 
mation and  dialogue.  These  were  great  days 
with  our  scholars,  and  with  their  parents.  The 
house  was  filled.  Every  one  was  there,  and  all 
came  to  be  pleased  and  to  see  which  school  did  the 


School  Exhibitions.  25 

best.  It  required  some  time  to  prepare  for  these 
occasions  ;  but  no  part  of  the  term  was  spent  to  bet- 
ter advantage." 

It  seems  to  have  been  customary  to  close  each  of 
these  exhibitions  with  a  brief  address  by  one  of  the 
teachers.  We  find  among  the  papers  of  Mr.  Hum- 
phrey two  or  three  addresses  prepared  by  himself 
for  this  purpose.  From  one  of  them  we  quote 
somewhat  extensively,  as  therein  a  vivid  idea  is 
conveyed  of  the  manner  in  which  the  more  dramatic 
part  of  these  entertainments  was  conducted.  Some 
objection  appears  to  have  been  made  to  this  feature 
of  the  exhibitions,  especially  as  they  were  given  in 
the  "  meeting-house."  This  objection  is  briefly 
considered,  and  disposed  of  by  the  plea  that  all  the 
dialogues  had  been  carefully  expurgated ;  and  that 
wit  and  humor  were  used  only  for  the  purpose  of 
exposing  vice,  and  of  elevating  the  moral  standard 
of  the  .community.  "And  now,  in  view  of  all  this, 
and  when  it  is  considered  that  no  other  place  will 
conveniently  accommodate  a  large  collection  of 
people,  can  any  one  seriously  object  to  such  exhi- 
bitions in  the  meeting-house?  Does  it  harm  the 
building?  All  public  business  is  done  in  this  house, 
and  against  that  no  objection  is  made.  Why  then 
should  it  be  thought  so  very  criminal  for  schools  to 
meet  here  once  or  twice  in  a  year ;  and  in  a  decent, 

3 


26  Heman   Humphrey. 

orderly  manner  give  specimens  of  their  learning  and 
proof  of  their  activity." 

He  then  recapitulates  the  exercises  of  the 
evening. 

"  Several  of  the  introductory  pieces,  which  were 
very  short,  and  spoken  by  our  smallest  scholars, 
were  designed  rather  to  amuse  than  to  inform  ;  yet 
we  conceive  them  not  to  be  entirely  destitute  of 
moral  instruction.  The  little  orator,  who  assumes  as 
much  importance  as  if  he  were  master  of  all  the 
eloquence  of  Greece  and  Rome,  does  not  stand 
alone.  How  often  do  we  see  persons  giving  them- 
selves airs  of  superiority  upon  subjects  of  which 
they  are  as  profoundly  ignorant  as  is  a  boy  of  three 
feet  high  of  the  boldest  flights  of  rhetoric  !" 

Following  these  "  introductory  pieces"  were  some 
of  greater  pretensions.  One  presenting  the  case  of 
a  gay  young  lady  who  had  visited  "  Vanity  Village," 
and  returned  with  a  head  bewildered  with  "  gal- 
lants, balls  and  sleigh-rides" — one  calculated  to  re- 
press superstition  by  its  rehearsal  of  the  experiences 
of  Mrs.  Goblin  and  Mrs.  Tremor — one  satirizing 
the  boastfulness  of  farmers,  and  one  intended  to 
promote  family  discipline.  Simple  and  harmless 
enough  were  these  rural  "theatricals,"  but  doubtless 
answering  their  end.  The  next  year  the  dramatic 
portion  of  the  entertainment  was  given  in  the  even- 


Valedictory   Addresses.  27 

ing  of  the  exhibition  day,  while  arithmetic  and  spell- 
ing took  the  honors  of  the  afternoon. 

The  date  of  this  address  is  "  Harwinton,  October 
14,  1802."  The  public  exhibition  appears,  in  this 
case,  to  have  been  given  at  the  opening  of  the  win- 
ter term. 

In  a  valedictory  address  delivered  to  the  "  mem- 
bers of  the  Middle  School  District  of  Harwinton,  in 
i8oi,"Mr.  Humphrey  discourses  in  more  elevated 
strain  upon  the  advantages  of  education  in  general. 
After  specifying  the  ordinary  motives  which  should 
influence  the  parent  in  providing  the  best  possible 
education  for  his  children,  he  refers  to  the  recently 
acquired  blessings  of  a  free  republic,  and  the  jealous 
care  with  which  it  should  be  guarded.  A  part  of 
this  address  glows  with  a  true  patriotic  fervor,  whose 
heats  were  always  quickly  kindled  in  his  breast,  if 
we  may  judge  from  a  Fourth  of  July  oration  he 
delivered  in  Harwinton  at  about  this  period. 

By  the  methods  above  described,  the  standard  of 
public-school  education  was  considerably  raised. 
Improvement  was  made  in  every  respect.  Yet  even 
then,  "the  three  principal  departments  were  spelling, 
reading  and  writing,  with  a  smattering  of  geography 
and  arithmetic."  To  carry  the  more  advanced 
scholars  a  little  farther,  evening  schools  were  often 
established. 


28  He  man   Humphrey. 

As  to  Mr.  Humphrey's  own  methods  of  govern- 
ment, they  were  eminently  judicious  for  a  period 
when  the  rod  and  the  ferule  were  made  so  conspic- 
uous in  the  armory  of  a  school-house.  Oliver  Wen- 
dell Holmes  is  not  the  only  man  who  counts  it 
among  the  recollections  of  the  school  of  his  boy- 
hood, that 

"  The  tree  that  grew  near  it  had  the  flavor  of  birch." 

Mr.  Humphrey  had  no  code  of  laws.  He  simply 
required  obedience  and  diligence  of  every  pupil. 
He  dealt  in  no  threats,  and  although  not  insisting 
upon  the  abolition  of  the  rod,  never  used  it  but 
once;  although,  he  says  quaintly,  "I  shook  the 
mischief  out  of  a  good  many." 

"Wishing  to  keep  alive  an  interest,  through  the 
summer,  among  the  older  scholars  of  the  districts 
where  I  taught  most,  I  used  to  write  a  sort  of  cir- 
cular, and  send  it  to  them  once  in  two  or  three 
months,  urging  them  to  keep  up  the  habit  of  study 
as  far  as  they  were  able,  so  as  not  to  lose  what  they 
had  gained.  I  also  visited  them,  occasionally,  by 
appointment ;  and  I  am  quite  sure  that  these  little 
attentions  were  more  to  them  than  they  cost  me." 

Of  his  "boarding  'round" — which  expresses,  in 
the  vernacular,  the  prevalent  custom  of  entertaining 
the  teacher  gratuitously  in  several  families,  a  week, 


Religious   Development.  29 

perhaps,  being  spent  by  him  in  each — he  speaks 
approvingly,  as  useful  both  to  himself  and  pupils, 
though  he  was  always  a  visitor,  and  had  never  a 
home. 

VIII. 

HIS  religious  development  began  very  early,  in 
the  home  of  his  childhood.  Neither  of  his 
parents  was  a  professor  of  religion,  in  the  technical 
sense,  while  he  remained  an  inmate  of  their  family. 
The  theological  teaching  of  the  time  was  unfavor- 
able to  an  early  connection  with  the  Church.  The 
influence  and  the  savor  of  Christianity  were,  how- 
ever, always  in  the  household  where  Mr.  Humphrey 
was  nurtured.  His  father  and  mother  had  both  been 
trained  in  the  atmosphere  of  Puritanism.  Daily  the 
father  ministered  at  the  family  altar.  All  the  out- 
ward observances  of  Christianity  were  rigidly  en- 
forced. The  sunset  of  Saturday  was  the  hither 
bound  of  "  holy  time."  Then  all  work  ceased,  and 
all  were  enjoined  to  lay  aside  worldly  cares,  and 
compose  themselves  for  the  worship  of  the  following 
day.  Nor,  although  the  Sabbath,  as  by  Jewish  rule, 
was  supposed  to  end  with  Sunday's  sunset,  was  any 
secular  employment  allowed  on  Sabbath  evening. 
Even  social  visits  were  interdicted,  that  the  impres- 
sions of  the  day  might  not  be  dissipated  by  talk  and 

3  « 


30  Heman   Humphrey. 

laughter.  The  Sunday-school  of  modern  times  was 
then  unknown ;  but  the  catechising  of  the  afternoon 
made  a  Sunday-school  of  every  family.  Indeed, 
the  Shorter  Catechism  was  then  taught  in  the  public 
schools  every  Saturday  morning ;  and  the  minister 
made  it  a  part  of  his  duty  in  pastoral  visitation,  to 
examine  the  children  of  his  flock  as  to  their  famil- 
iarity with  this  universally  adopted  formulary  of 
doctrine. 

Mr.  Humphrey  was  required,  in  his  boyhood,  to 
attend  public  worship  with  the  strictest  regularity. 
"  I  rarely  stayed  at  home,  whatever  the  weather 
might  be,  unless  I  was  sick;  which,  in  the  good 
providence  of  God,  was  seldom  the  case.  Once  on 
a  fast  day,  instead  of  going  to  meeting,  I  wandered 
over  the  fields  and  woods  in  the  forenoon  with  a 
companion ;  but  my  conscience  smote  me  so  that  I 
never  tried  it  again." 

It  was  not  until  the  winter  of  1798-9  that  he  had 
any  marked  religious  experience.  He  was  then  in 
his  twentieth  year.  Rev.  Dr.  Griffin,  then  settled  at 
New  Hartford,  was  preaching  \vith  all  the  freshness 
and  ardor  which  characterized  that  remarkable  man. 
A  powerful  revival  began  in  his  parish  during  the 
winter  referred  to.  Its  influences  extended  far  and 
wide.  They  reached  the  parish  where  Mr.  Hum- 
phrey resided.  His  heart  and  conscience  were 


His    Conversion.  31 

touched,  but  not  until  the  revival  had  been  some 
time  in  progress  in  Burlington.  In  his  case  "  the 
process  of  awakening,  inquiry,  and  conviction  was 
very  gradual."  But  he  awoke  at  length  to  the  con- 
sciousness that,  although  he  desired  to  become  a 
Christian,  his  "  heart  was  opposed  to  God,  to  his 
government  and  his  requirements."  Once  or  twice 
before  this,  his  thoughts  had  been  seriously  directed 
to  the  subject  of  personal  holiness,  under  the  faithful 
preaching  of  his  pastor ;  but  they  had  speedily  been 
diverted.  Now  they  abode  with  him  day  and  night. 
He  prayed  ;  he  read  the  Bible ;  he  attended  all  the 
meetings  ;  and  as  often  as  some  friend  expressed 
a  personal  hope  in  Christ,  he  murmured  at  the  par- 
tiality of  Him  who  "took  one  and  another,  while 
he  was  left."  The  rebellion  of  his  heart  became 
declared.  "  Were  not  some  of  these  converts 
greater  sinners  than  I  ?  Have  they  sought  salvation 
more  diligently?"  Then  the  doctrine  of  Divine 
Sovereignty,  so  earnestly  insisted  upon  by  the 
preachers  of  that  day,  presented  itself  to  him  in  an 
odious  light.  "  I  saw  it  was  in  the  Bible  ;  I  could 
not  disprove  it ;  yet  I  was  very  loth  to  believe  it." 
He  was  not  slow  to  use  all  the  familiar  arguments 
against  it.  "I  took  to  myself  the  credit  of  enter- 
taining more  honorable  thoughts  of  God's  character 
and  government  than  others  ;  whilst,  as  I  afterward 


32  Hcman   Humphrey. 

found,  I  was  fighting  against  him.  But  God,  of 
his  infinite  mercy,  was  pleased  to  show  me,  after 
I  had  struggled  for  weeks  and  months,  that  in  his 
electing  love  was  all  my  hope.  I  became  convinced 
at  length,  that  I  never  should  repent  if  left  to  my 
unassisted  efforts.  I  was  brought  to  feel  that  I  lay 
under  the  righteous  condemnation  of  God's  law,  and 
that  he  was  under  no  obligation  to  save  me.  I 
knew  that  salvation  was  freely  offered  through  the 
Atonement  of  Christ ;  I  was  urged  to  come  to  him 
that  I  might  have  life ;  but  I  refused.  I  saw  no 
beauty  in  him  that  I  should  desire  him.  The  invi- 
tation, '  Come,  for  all  things  are  now  ready,' 
sounded  continually  in  my  ears ;  but  I  would  not 
come.  It  was  my  own  fault ;  I  could  make  nothing 
else  of  it ;  but  so  obstinate  and  averse  to  holiness 
was  my  heart,  that  I  despaired  of  ever  making  my- 
self better.  If  God  did  not  give  me  a  new  heart  I 
must  certainly  perish.  And  here  I  saw  that  the 
doctrine  of  election,  which  I  had  so  stoutly  opposed, 
was  my  only  ground  of  hope.  It  may  be — this  was 
now  my  argument — that  God,  in  the  infinite  riches 
of  his  grace,  has  chosen  me  to  salvation  through 
sanctification  of  the  Spirit  and  belief  of  the  truth. 
If  he  has,  he  will  make  me  willing  in  the  day  of 
his  power ;  for  he  never  changes.  His  '  gifts  and 
calling  are  without  repentance.'  If  there  be  no 


His    Conversion.  33 

election,  I  am  lost;  for  I  shall  never  come  to  Christ 
*  except  the  Father  who  hath  sent,  him  draw'  me. 
If  I  am  not  one  of  the  elect  according  to  the  fore- 
knowledge of  God,  woe  is  me  for  ever  ! 

"  This  was  my  condition.  This  was  the  hope  to 
which  I  clung.  I  had  too  much  light  to  expect  to 
enter  the  strait  gate  without  striving ;  but  I  knew 
that  I  should  fail  if  the  Saviour  did  not  help  me  ; 
and  my  prayer  was  'Lord,  save,  or  I  perish  !'  There 
was  no  such  marked  and  sudden  change  in  my 
feelings  that  I  could  ever,  in  looking  back,  fix  upon 
the  day  or  week  of  my  '  passing  from  death  unto 
life.'  The  light  broke  in  gradually.  It  was  some 
time  before  I  dared  to  indulge  even  a  trembling 
hope ;  and  much  longer  before  it  was  so  confirmed 
that  I  offered  myself  for  admission  into  the  Church." 
He  connected  himself  at  last  with  the  Congrega- 
tional church  in  Burlington,  Rev.  Jonathan  Miller, 
pastor. 

This  record  of  experience  is,  perhaps,  what  one 
would  expect  when  considering  the  strong  nature 
of  Mr.  Humphrey  and  the  presentations  of  truth  to 
which  he  was  accustomed.  Conversions  are  always 
colored  by  prevailing  ideas  and  habits  of  thought. 
"  If  I  was  then  born  again,"  says  he,  "  I  was  born 
a  Calvinist,  '  Not  of  flesh  nor  of  blood,  nor  of  the 
will  of  man,  but  of  God,  who  hath  mercy  on  whom 

c 


34  Heman    Humphrey. 

he  will  have  mercy.'  I  then  fully  embraced  the 
doctrines  of  the  Shorter  Catechism,  and  from  this 
platform  I  have  never  swerved."  Then  follow  some 
expressions  of  occasional  doubt  and  fear,  but  closing 
with  this:  "Still  I  cling  to  the  cross,  I  pray  for 
strength  and  grace  to  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith 
and  lay  hold  on  eternal  life.  Blessed  Jesus,  I  cast 
myself  upon  thine  Almighty  arm,  as  one  of  the  least 
and  weakest  of  all  saints,  trusting  alone  in  thine  all- 
sufficient  righteousness  and  atonement !"  If  the 
conflict  with  sovereignty  was  severe,  the  final  de- 
pendence upon  Christ  was  real  and  complete. 
There  was  both  submission  to  God  and  faith  in  his 
dear  Son.  Under  another  form  of  preaching  and 
habit  of  mind,  the  idea  of  Faith  in  Christ  would 
have  been  most  prominent.  He  would  have  been 
the  "  Calvinist"  still.  God  was  always  great  to  him 
as  a  Sovereign,  but  Jesus  always  chief  among  ten 
thousand  and  altogether  lovely. 

He  was  himself  accustomed  to  say,  in  later  years, 
that  the  revivals  and  conversions  of  different  periods 
are  marked  by  peculiarities  of  type.  But  he  always 
thought,  as  will  hereafter  appear,  that,  while  in  the 
earlier  part  of  this  century,  the  duty  of  immediate 
repentance  was  not  sufficiently  insisted  upon,  the 
"  law-work,"  and  the  lengthened  "  concern"  of  the 
impenitent,  sometimes  continuing  for  many  months, 


Neighboring    Clergymen.  35 

i 

resulted  in  a  greater  thoroughness  of  religious  cha- 
racter than  do  the  quicker  experiences  of  the  present 
day.  The  converts  of  Dr.  Griffin's  time  were  cer- 
tainly much  better  "indoctrinated"  than  those  of 
this  period  of  faster,  and,  perhaps,  more  superficial, 
movement. 

IX. 

THE  clergymen  to  whose  preaching  Mr.  Hum- 
phrey was  early  accustomed,  were  men  of 
genuine  power,  and  of  no  inconsiderable  culture. 
He  frequently  heard  others  than  his  own  pastor,  as, 
in  the  summer  months,  the  necessities  of  agriculture, 
to  which  all  these  clergymen  were  accustomed,  took 
the  preacher  away  from  his  study  and  led  to  con- 
stant "  exchanges."  For  many  weeks  the  congre- 
gations expected  to  find  strangers  in  their  pulpits 
every  Sabbath.  Mr.  Miller  was  "  a  sound  and  in- 
structive, but  not  eloquent  preacher.  His  voice  was 
rather  heavy  than  elastic ;  and  though  always  seri- 
ous, he  rarely  betrayed  much  emotion  in  the  pulpit. 
He  was  esteemed  by  his  brethren  in  the  Association 
as  one  of  their  soundest  theologians.  As  he  lived 
nearly  a  mile  from  the  meeting-house,  I  remember 
how  he  used  always,  in  summer,  to  ride  to  meeting 
on  horseback — his  wife  on  the  pillion  behind  him. 
After  tying  his  horse  in  the  shade  he  would  walk  in, 


36  Neman   Humphrey. 

with  his  small  Bible  under  his  arm.  The  elderly 
part  of  the  congregation,  who  '  sat  below,'  rose  in 
a  body  as  he  passed  up  the  aisle.  When  he  had 
hung  up  his  hat  back  of  the  pulpit,  and  turned 
round,  the  young  people  in  the  gallery  all  rose  to 
receive  his  fatherly  recognition." 

Among  the  neighboring  pastors  were  some  of 
honored  name — Rev.  Jeremiah  Hallock,  of  Can- 
ton ;  Rev.  Giles  Cowles,  of  Bristol ;  Rev.  Dr.  Grif- 
fin, already  alluded  to;  Rev.  Joseph  Washburn,  of 
Farmington  ;  Rev.  William  Robinson,  of  Southing- 
ton,  described  as  being  equal  in  metaphysical  acu- 
men and  logical  power  to  Dr.  Dwight,  of  New 
Haven  ;  Rev.  Joshua  Williams,  of  Harwinton,  and 
Rev.  Samuel  J.  Mills,  of  Torringford — a  man  noted 
for  serious  discourse,  but  also  for  many  quaint 
flashes  of  humor. 

These  men  were  most  faithful  and  laborious  in 
their  own  parishes,  through  long-continued  pastor- 
ates. Their  missionary  labors,  also,  were  neither 
few  nor  small.  They  frequently  went  on  journeys 
to  the  then  distant  and  destitute  regions  of  Vermont, 
where  but  few  churches  were  gathered  ;  and  where 
the  most  of  those  which  had  begun  to  live  were  too 
feeble  to  support  pastors.  Thus  this  Connecticut 
Association  furnished  some  germs  for  that  handful 
of  corn  in  the  earth  upon  the  top  of  the  mountains, 


Preparation  for   College.  37 

whose  fruit  now  shakes  like  Lebanon — The  Ameri- 
can Home  Missionary  Society. 


V. 

AFTER  reading  this  record  of  mental  culture 
and  religious  experience,  it  does  not  surprise 
us  that  in  the  spring  of  1803,  Rev.  Mr.  Williams, 
of  Harwinton,  the  clerical  friend  above  alluded  to, 
encouraged  Mr.  Humphrey  to  study  with  a  view  to 
the  ministry.  Nor  are  we  surprised,  that  in  view 
of  the  difficulties  to  be  surmounted,  even  a  man  of 
resolute  mind  and  consecrated  heart,  might,  at  first, 
shrink  from  such  a  path  of  duty.  Mr.  Humphrey 
was  then  in  his  twenty-fifth  year.  His  Latin  studies 
had  extended  no  farther  than  "  several  books  in 
Virgil  and  most  of  Cicero's  Orations."  It  was  now 
the  month  of  May.  Horace  was  to  be  read.  Al- 
gebra was  to  be  mastered.  He  had  not  even  learned 
the  alphabet  of  the  Greek  language,  and  must  pass- 
examination  in  the  whole  of  the  Greek  Testament 
and  in  two  books  of  Homer's  Iliad.  All  this  prep- 
aration must  be  made  in  six  months.  But  after 
accustoming  himself  a  little  to  the  thought,  Mr. 
Humphrey  resolved  to  make  the  trial.  Mr.  Wil- 
liams volunteered  to  conduct  his  recitations.  He 
addressed  himself  to  the  task,  and  during  those  six 

4 


38  Heman   Humphrey. 

months  applied  himself  to  his  studies  twelve  hours 
each  day.  The  Annual  Commencement  of  Yale 
College  was  then  in  September.  Just  before  its 
occurrence  in  this  year,  one  of  the  professors — Rev. 
Jeremiah  Day,  afterward  President — spent  a  day  or 
two  with  Mr.  Williams.  He  examined  Mr.  Hum- 
phrey sufficiently  to  give  him  encouragement  to 
present  himself  for  admission  to  the  Junior  Class  at 
the  close  of  the  fall  vacation.  On  the  designated 
day  he  appeared  at  the  Institution. 

"  I  had  never  been  in  New  Haven  before.  Every- 
thing looked  new  and  strange.  My  heart  fluttered 
when  the  hour  of  trial  came.  Two  of  the  profes- 
sors, Messrs.  Day  and  Kingsley,  examined  me  in 
several  branches  of  study-  I  was  poorly  fitted,  as 
they  must  have  seen  at  a  glance.  I  hardly  did  my- 
self justice,  perceiving  which,  perhaps,  they  made 
some  allowance,  and  admitted  me,  knowing  my 
anxiety  for  an  education,  and  being  willing  to  give 
me  a  fair  trial.  I  paid  my  fee  of  thirty  dollars  for 
advanced  standing,  and  brought  my  scanty  furniture 
into  the  room  which  was  assigned  me.  This  was  a 
new  era  in  my  life.  It  remained  to  be  seen  how  I 
could  compete  with  classmates  who  had  already 
been  accustomed  to  the  drill  of  the  recitation-room 
for  two  years.  My  first  trial  was  anything  but  satis- 
factory to  myself.  I  was  embarrassed.  I  often 


Boarding  in    Commons.  39 

blundered  where  I  was  sure  I  was  prepared ;  but 
instead  of  relaxing  my  efforts  under  discouragement, 
I  always  resolved  to  do  better  next  time.  • 

"Taking  an  advanced  standing,  I  was  prepared 
for  many  difficulties,  but  encountered  some  which  I 
did  not  expect.  Though  a  Junior  by  the  catalogue, 
I  was  really  a  Freshman.  I  had  everything  to 
learn  of  college  customs,  and  of  a  hundred  name- 
less things,  before  I  could  be  wonted  to  my  new 
life.  When  I  entered  Yale,  the  Junior  and  Senior 
Classes  were  allowed  to  send  Freshmen  on  errands. 
The  custom  struck  me  as  absurd.  I  never  availed 
myself  of  it.  I  was  glad  that  this  privilege,  together 
with  that  enjoyed  by  the  Sophomores,  was  soon 
withdrawn." 

Want  of  means  occasioned  another  draft  upon 
the  strength  and  resolution  of  our  student.  He 
supplied  the  deficiency  in  part,  at  first,  by  acting  as 
waiter  in  the  dining-hall,  where  the  students  boarded 
"  in  commons."  The  custom  was,  to  reduce  the 
expense  of  boarding  by  a  mutual  association,  the 
members  of  which  used  a  kitchen  and  dining-room 
provided  by  the  College,  free  of  expense ;  nothing 
being  charged  for  the  food  except  the  actual  cost. 
A  few  of  the  students  served  as  waiters  for  the  rest, 
their  compensation  being  afforded  by  a  reduction  of 
their  bills  for  boarding.  Such  a  service  was  con- 


40  Heman   Humphrey. 

sidered  no  degradation,  and  affected  in  no  way  the 
social  standing.  During  the  third  term  of  his  Junior 
year,  Mr.  Humphrey  became  the  bookkeeper  of  the 
establishment. 

The  custom  was  a  bad  one,  notwithstanding  its 
economy.  Dr.  Bushnell  says  that  emigration  tends 
to  barbarism.  College  life,  in  the  heart  of  cultivated 
society,  was  not  without  that  tendency  in  those  days. 
The  dining-room  of  the  "  commons"  was  very  long, 
and  the  students  were  hungry.  To  maintain  some 
show  of  order,  the  College  tutors  sat  at  a  table 
slightly  elevated  upon  a  platform  at  one  end  of  the 
hall.  One  of  them  must  always  be  in  his  place  to 
crave  a  blessing  at  the  commencement  of  the  meal. 
The  doors  were  kept  locked  until  all  was  ready. 
Then  the  bell  struck,  and  the  whole  mass  of  the 
besiegers,  two  or  three  hundred  strong,  rushed  into 
the  room.  Each  grasped  his  knife  and  fork,  and 
stood  ready  for  action  as  the  last  word  of  the 
"  grace"  was  pronounced.  Then  came  the  racket 
and  the  struggle  for  the  choicer  viands.  The  plat- 
ters were  cleared  in  an  instant.  "Waiter!  waiter!" 
resounded  on  every  side.  The  unaccustomed  visitor, 
respecting  the  ordinary  decencies  of  the  table,  stood 
by  in  astonishment,  and  so  lost  his  dinner  After  a 
day  or  two,  however,  hunger  overcame  etiquette. 
So  fierce  was  the  general  onset  that  "crockery" 


Close   of  College   Life.  41 

would  have  soon  been  annihilated.  The  table  fur- 
niture was  all  of  pewter.  Even  that  was  soon  bored 
through  by  the  forks  of  the  invaders.  Great  pains 
was  taken  by  the  steward  to  furnish  wholesome 
food,  but  he  sometimes  failed.  Then,  notwithstand- 
ing the  presence  and  the  watchful  eyes  of  the  tutors, 
scraps  of  butter  and  pieces  of  meat  would  fly,  as  if 
under  the  influence  of  invisible  spirits,  about  the 
hall.  Indignation  meetings  would  sometimes  be 
held ;  eloquent  speeches  would  be  made  ;  a  memo- 
rial, praying  for  a  redress  of  grievances,  would  be 
sent  to  the  president,  though  not  always  with  much 
effect. 

At  the  close  of  the  Junior  year,  Mr.  Humphrey 
found  his  finances  running  so  low  that  he  resorted 
to  his  old  method  of  replenishing  the  treasury — the 
schoolmaster's  work.  This  did  not  greatly  interfere 
with  his  studies,  as,  during  the  Senior  year,  he  had 
but  one  recitation  per  day,  and  that  not  difficult. 
He  also  discharged  the  duties  of  Librarian  in  one 
of  the  Society  Halls  ;  and  thus  was  able  to  take  his 
diploma  without  debt,  and  having  a  small  sum  with 
which  to  commence  his  professional  studies. 

In  many  respects  his  college  life  was  very  pleas- 
ant and  profitable.  He  greatly  enjoyed  the  sermons 
and  lectures  of  President  Dwight,  whose  eloquence 
in  the  class-room  eclipsed  even  that  of  his  pulpit 

4* 


42  Heman   Humphrey. 

discourses.  Jeremiah  Day  had  then  just  been  placed 
in  the  professorship  of  Mathematics  and  Natural 
Philosophy.  Professor  Silliman  adorned  the  Labo- 
ratory, and  Professor  Kingsley  was  teacher  of  the 
Ancient  Languages. 

A  powerful  revival  had  brought  large  numbers  of 
the  students  into  the  Church  just  before  Mr.  Hum- 
phrey entered  college.  His  religious  associations 
were  therefore  good. 

His  literary  privileges,  as  member  of  the  "  Lino- 
nian,"  were  greatly  valued.  He  attended  all  the 
meetings  of  his  society,  and  was  always  ready  for 
debate,  either  as  appointee,  or  as  substitute  for  some 
lazier  member.  He  was  diligent  also  with  his  pen. 
He  even  courted  the  muses ;  but,  as  he  afterward 
thought,  with  indifferent  success.  His  old  taste  for 
the  work  of  the  educator  developed  itself  in  several 
newspaper  articles,  published  in  one  of  the  New 
Haven  journals,  over  the  signature  Lictor.  He 
used  to  thrust  his  manuscript  under  the  door  of  the 
printing-office  and  hastily  leave  the  premises.  These 
articles  attracted  much  attention  ;  but  even  the  editor 
was  ignorant  of  their  authorship  until  after  several 
of  the  series  had  been  printed. 

That  the  rank  of  our  student  in  his  class  was  by 
no  means  low,  when  the  disadvantages  under  which 
he  had  labored  are  considered,  is  evidenced  by  the 


Theological  Education.  43 

fact  that  his  graduating  appointment  was  an  Oration. 
Among  the  well-known  members  of  his  class  were 
that  prominent  educator  of  the  blind,  Rev.  T.  H. 
Gallaudet,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Spring,  of  New  York. 

After  leaving  college,  Mr.  Humphrey  remained 
in  New  Haven  a  few  months,  in  charge  of  a  school ; 
at  the  same  time  commencing  his  theological  studies 
under  the  direction  of  President  Dvvight. 


XL 

"XT  O  Theological  Seminary  then  existed  in  the 
•*•  ^  country.  The  "  schools  of  the  Prophets"  were 
small,  and  scattered,  mainly,  in  retired  villages. 
Some  pastor,  well  fitted  for  the  task,  would  gather 
about  him  a  few  pupils  each  year,  and  instruct  them 
as  he  was  able.  "  In  these  private  schools  there 
was  no  critical  study  of  the  original  languages  of 
the  Scriptures.  The  period  of  study,  which  rarely 
extended  over  eighteen  months,  was  almost  wholly 
occupied  in  reading  standard  English  theological 
authors,  such  as  Hopkins,  Bellamy,  and,  above  all, 
President  Edwards ;  also  in  writing,  and  in  disputa- 
tions upon  a  long  list  of  questions,  embracing  the 
whole  system  of  Christian  doctrine,  drawn  from  the 
Word  of  God,  and  embodied  in  the  Westminster 
Assembly's  Catechism. 


44  He  man    Humphrey. 

A  favorite  school  of  this  class  was  conducted  by 
Rev.  Asahel  Hooker,  of  Goshen,  Connecticut.  He. 
was,  in  person,  somewhat  above  medium  stature, 
"well  proportioned,  of  black  hair,  mild  eye,  sweet 
and  placid  countenance  and  lovely  spirit.  He  had 
a  clear  mind ;  and,  though  not  so  profound  as  some 
of  the  great  masters,  was,  on  the  whole,  a  good 
teacher.  His  preaching  was  sound,  instructive  and 
persuasive.  It  was  eminently  doctrinal,  as  well  as 
highly  practical  and  experimental.  He  was  not  an 
orator,  but  he  had  a  good  voice,  which  he  managed 
well ;  and  his  delivery  was  winning  in  an  uncommon 
degree." 

Several  of  Mr.  Humphrey's  college  acquaintances, 
already  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Hooker,  invited  him 
to  join  them.  He  did  so  in  the  spring  of  1806,  and 
became  an  inmate  of  Mr.  Hooker's  family.  Four 
or  five  other  students  resided  under  the  same  hos- 
pitable roof  which  sheltered  him.  Some  theological 
question  was  proposed  for  discussion  at  almost  every 
meal.  The  ordinary  debates  were  held  in  the  class ; 
dissertations  were  presented  and  subjected  to  the 
freest  criticism.  "  We  built  an  arbor  during  the 
following  summer,  in  a  beautiful  primitive  forest 
near  by.  There  we  used  to  declaim,  and  sometimes 
read,  in  pleasant  weather.  We  exercised  our  voices 
in  the  meeting-house.  We  wrote  three  or  four  ser- 


He   is   Licensed.  45 

mons  with  which  to  begin  our  ministry.  Still  further 
to  prepare  us  for  our  work,  Mr.  Hooker  took  us  with 
him,  or  sent  us  to  hold  meetings  in  several  districts 
in  his  parish.  He  sent  us  every  Sabbath,  two  and 
two,  to  read  sermons  and  conduct  all  the  regular 
services,  excepting  the  benediction,  in  a  remote 
corner  of  the  town,  where  a  small  meeting-house 
had  been  built  for  '  winter  privileges.'  We  selected 
the  best  sermons  we  could  find,  and  delivered  them 
as  well  as  we  were  able.  By  this  means  we  were 
gradually  introduced  to  our  work,  so  that  when  we 
began  to  preach  we  felt  the  less  embarrassment." 

In  October  following,  Mr.  Humphrey  was  licensed 
to  preach  by  the  Litchfield  North  Association,  then 
holding  its  sessions  in  Salisbury.  He  would  gladly 
have  continued  his  studies,  but  yielded  to  the  advice 
of  his  friends  and  his  own  anxieties  to  be  about  his 
Father's  business.  "  With  my  license  in  my  pocket, 
I  purchased  a  horse,  saddle,  bridle  and  portmanteau, 
and  was  ready  to  enter  the  field,  without  knowing  or 
conjecturing  in  what  corner  of  it  I  was  to  find  em- 
ploy. Up  to  this  time  my  funds  held  out.  I  was 
'*  even  with  the  world,'  paid  all  my  bills,  and  had 
a  few  dollars  left — very  few — for  contingent  ex- 
penses." He  had  "  paid  all  the  expenses  of  his 
education  without  any  aid,  except  that  some  of  his 
clothes  had  been  furnished  by  his  mother." 


46  Heman   Humphrey. 

He  preached  his  first  sermon  in  the  pulpit  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Stone,  at  Cornwall,  Connecticut,  and  before  a 
meeting  of  ministers.  The  following  Sabbath,  he 
preached  at  Watertown,  in  the  absence  of  the 
pastor  of  that  village.  A  week  or  two  subsequently, 
he  received  an  invitation  to  preach  as  candidate  at 
Fairfield.  He  went  to  that  place  early  in  Novem- 
ber, having  but  four  or  five  sermons  ;  and  preached 
"straight  on  "three  months,  and  then  went  away. 
Very  soon  after  he  left,  he  received  a  unanimous 
call  from  the  church  and  society  of  Fairfield,  to 
become  their  pastor.  While  considering  this  call, 
he  preached  in  his  old  haunt,  "the  winter  privi- 
leged" meeting-house  of  Goshen.  He  then  returned 
to  Fairfield. 

XII. 

r  I  "'HIS  town  is  pleasantly  situated  on  Long  Island 
-*•  Sound,  twenty  miles  west  of  New  Haven.  It 
was  then  "  a  considerable  village,  and  the  half-shire 
town  of  the  county ;  but  very  plain  in  its  external 
appearance.  Not  more  than  four  or  five  of  the 
houses,  I  believe,  had  ever  been  painted,  and  these 
were  now  so  weatherbeaten  that  the  signs  of  paint 
had  wellnigh  disappeared.  Fairfield  had  been 
burnt,  during  the  Revolution,  by  that  bloody  traitor 
Arnold.  By  this  calamity  the  inhabitants  were  very 


Society   in   Fairfield.  47 

much  impoverished,  and  were  obliged  to  rebuild  in 
as  plain  a  style  as  was  consistent  with  the  comfort 
of  their  families." 

He  found  an  uncommon  social  equality  in  the  vil- 
lage. "  Some  had  more  property  and  intelligence 
than  others ;  but  while  none  were  rich,  few  were 
very  poor.  And  there  was  a  freedom  and  cordiality 
in  social  intercourse  which  was  delightful.  Whole 
neighborhoods  lived  together  like  one  great  family 
of  many  branches."  This  was  attributed  to  the 
fellowship  of  suffering,  produced  by  the  calamities 
of  war.  "  There  was  at  that  time  very  little  enter- 
prise  in  Fairfield.  The  farmers  maintained  their 
families  comfortably,  but  their  sons  generally  left 
them  for  more  inviting  and  lucrative  fields,  as  soon 
as  they  had  reached  their  majority.  Many  went 
into  the  coasting  trade  ;  others  into  the  cities,  where 
some  became  rich  and  then  retired  upon  their  for- 
tunes. But  although  Fairfield  was  a  social,  friendly 
and  moral  place,  it  was  not,  strictly  speaking,  relig- 
ious. The  church  was  small,  the  rules  of  admitting 
members  were  very  lax,  and  discipline  was  greatly 
neglected.  Upon  inquiry,  I  could  find  but  two 
members  of  the  church  who  prayed  daily  with  their 
families.  Two  or  three  others,  I  believe  not  more, 
prayed  on  the  Sabbath  and  sometimes  on  week-days. 
When  I  settled  there,  not  a  man  could  I  call  upon 


48  Heman   Humphrey. 

to  lead  in  prayer  at  a  religions  meeting.  Not  one 
had  ever  prayed  in  public.  Nothing  like  a  revival 
in  the  congregation  was  remembered  by  any  one. 
Doubtless  there  had  been  many  conversions.  There 
had  been  no  revival."  The  congregation  had  never 
been  long  without  a  pastor ;  but  when  he  was  absent 
— as  he  generally  was  each  summer — sometimes 
for  weeks  together,  the  meeting-house  was  never 
opened.  Such  a  thing  as  a  deacon's  meeting  was 
unknown  to  them. 

"  This  condition  of  affairs  was  largely  due  to  the 
prevalence  of  the  '  Half-way  Covenant,'  which  was 
then  quite  a  feature  of  church-life  in  New  England. 
This  was  an  expedient  adopted  to  secure  the  bap- 
tism of  infants  whose  parents  had  never  made  public 
profession  of  religion.  The  conditions  of  the  '  Half- 
way Covenant'  were,  that  parents  who  desired  bap- 
tism for  their  children,  must,  before  presenting 
them  for  the  ordinance,  '  give  their  assent  to  certain 
Church  articles,  expressing  a  belief  in  the  Bible  as 
the  Word  of  God,'  engaging  to  lead  a  good  moral 
life,  to  bring  up  their  children  in  a  religious  way, 
and  to  come  to  the  Lord's  Table,  or  into  full  com- 
munion, as  soon  as  they  should  see  their  way  clear." 
This  gave  church  membership  to  those  who  made  no 
pretensions  to  personal  holiness,  and  admitted  them 
to  the  Lord's  Table  without  piety.  The  "  way"  to 


The   Half-way    Covenant.  49 

the  table  was  "seen  clear," in  general,  at  some  period 
of  unusual  seriousness,  like  that  of  affliction.  The 
custom  thus  established  was  afterward  continued. 
Some  were  perhaps  genuine  converts ;  but  very 
many  were  not.  As  a  consequence  of  this  system, 
a  regular  Church  membership,  formed  after  the 
usual  method,  wras  very  rare.  "A  lady,  then  eighty 
years  of  age,  born  in  Fairfield,  and  always  a  resi- 
dent, told  me  she  had  never  known  but  one  young 
person,  whom  she  named,  to  join  the  church." 
Doctrinal  preaching  also  had  been  very  much  ne- 
glected. Formalism  and  morality  had  extensively 
taken  the  place  of  true  devotion  and  godliness. 

These  facts  coming  to  Mr.  Humphrey's  know- 
ledge \vhile  he  was  preaching  at  Fairfield,  before 
his  call  to  the  pastorate,  he  aimed  to  be  explicit  in 
the  statement  of  his  views.  He  preached  the  strong 
doctrines  of  that  Calvinism  in  which  he  had  been 
trained,  and  into  which  he  had  been  converted.  "  I 
told  the  people  that  I  could  find  no  warrant  in  Scrip- 
ture for  this  '  Half-way  Covenant,'  and  that  in  no 
case  could  I  administer  the  ordinance  of  baptism  to 
children,  neither  of  whose  parents  was  in  full  com- 
munion with  the  Church."  It  seemed  to  him  very 
unlikely  that  such  "trial  sermons"  as  these  would 
result  in  a  call.  But  the  way  had  been  somewhat 
prepared  for  them  by  the  previous  faithful  preaching 

5  D 


50  Heman   Humphrey. 

of  Rev.  Noah  Porter,  afterward  his  brother-in-law, 
who  had  supplied  the  pulpit  for  a  short  period,  but 
was  now  settled  in  Farmington. 

Nevertheless,  the  call  came,  as  we  have  seen.  It 
was  accepted,  and  the  day  of  ordination  was  fixed. 
The  events  immediately  following  are  thus  described 
by  Rev.  William  B.  Sprague,  D.D.,  in  a  communi- 
cation to  the  Neiv  York  Observer : 

"When  he  returned  to  them  after  having  accepted 
their  call,  he  called  on  Mrs.  Eliot,  his  predecessor's 
widow,  and  asked  her  to  show  him  the  Confession 
of  Faith  and  Covenant  which  were  in  use  in  the 
Church.  She  brought  to  him  a  little  piece  of  paper, 
containing,  as  a  Confession  of  Faith,  little  more 
than  a  recognition  of  the  divine  authority  of  the 
Scriptures,  while  the  Covenant  was  something  like 
this  :  '  We  promise  to  devote  our  children  to  God  in 
baptism,  and  when  we  see  our  own  way  clear,  to 
come  also  to  the  Holy  Communion.'  He  imme- 
diately called  on  Judge  Sturges,  one  of  the  most 
prominent  members  of  the  church,  and  asked  him 
if  that  formed  the  whole  basis  of  communion  in 
their  church ;  and  he  told  him  that  it  did.  Mr. 
Humphrey  then  told  the  Judge,  with  all  frankness, 
that  he  could  not  settle  on  such  a  basis  ;  but  the 
Judge  advised  him  not  to  make  any  trouble  about 
it,  and  intimated  that  it  would  be  easy  to  remedy  the 


New    Confession    of  Faith.  51 

difficulty  afterward.  Mr.  H.  insisted  that,  if  it  were 
not  remedied  at  once,  he  should  feel  constrained  to 
withdraw  his  acceptance  of  the  call.  'What,  then,' 
said  the  Judge,  'shall  be  done?'  Said  Mr.  Hum- 
phrey :  '  I  will  draw  up  a  Confession  of  Faith,  and 
do  you  draw  up  one  also,  and  let  us  see  how  far 
they  agree.'  And  to  this  the  Judge  consented.  Mr. 
Humphrey  prepared  one  embracing  all  the  leading 
orthodox  doctrines ;  but  when  he  asked  the  Judge 
for  his,  it  turned  out  that  he  had  only  written  an 
article  or  two,  which,  however,  suited  Mr.  Hum- 
phrey so  well,  that  he  willingly  incorporated  them 
with  those  he  had  written  himself. 

"A  church  meeting  was  now  called  to  see  whether 
they  would  adopt  the  new  ecclesiastical  basis ;  but, 
in  the  mean  time,  it  had  come  to  be  noised  abroad 
that  there  was  trouble  arising,  and  that  it  was 
doubtful  whether  the  ordination  would  take  place. 
Mr.  Humphrey  was  quite  as  popular  with  the  con- 
gregation as  with  the  church ;  and  they  manifested 
a  deep  interest  in  the  result  of  the  church  meeting. 
There  was  a  very  general  attendance  of  the  mem- 
bers ;  and  when  they  had  assembled,  Mr.  Hum- 
phrey read  the  old  articles  and  made  his  objections 
to  them ;  and  then  the  new  ones,  and  gave  his  rea- 
sons in  their  favor.  The  church  was  then  called 
upon  to  express  their  opinion,  and  the  result  was  the 


52  Hcman   Humphrey, 

unanimous  adoption  of  the  new  articles.  The  way 
was  now  clear  for  the  ordination.  But  the  question 
arose,  after  the  ordination,  how  the  '  Half-way  Cov- 
enant' folks  should  be  disposed  of.  The  church 
voted  that  all  who  had  owned  the  Covenant,  and 
were  not  in  full  communion,  should  have  six  months 
to  consider  whether  they  should  come  to  the  ordi- 
nance of  the  Supper  or  not ;  and  that,  in  case  they 
decided  in  favor  of  coming,  nothing  more  should  be 
necessary  than  that  they  should  signify  their  wish  to 
the  pastor — otherwise  they  would  be  considered  as 
not  belonging  to  the  church.  Some  came,  and 
some  who  did  not  within  that  time,  were  afterward 
hopefully  converted.  About  a  year  after  his  settle- 
ment, Roger  Minot  Sherman  moved  into  Fairfield, 
and  was  ever  afterward  an  important  helper  to  him 
in  his  ministry." 

XIII. 

MR.   HUMPHREY  was  ordained  March   16, 
1807,  Rev.   Mr.   Miller,  his  former  pastor, 
preaching  the  sermon.     His  ministry  in  Fairfield 
continued  about  ten  years. 

He  felt  it  to  be  his  duty,  immediately  after  his 
ordination,  to  establish  a  weekly  prayer-meeting ; 
but  as  no  member  of  his  church  was  willing  to  lead 
in  public  devotion,  he  began  by  privately  collecting 


Routine   of  Duty.  53 

a  few  of  the  more  pious  and  gifted  of  the  members, 
agreeing  with  them  that  each  perspn  of  the  little 
circle  should  lead  in  prayer  at  each  of  their  informal 
meetings.  In  this  way  a  few  of  them  gradually 
gained  sufficient  confidence  to  assist  in  public 
meetings. 

The  discipline  of  the  church  was  also  restored. 
"  Cases  were  taken  up  and  disposed  of  very  harmo- 
niously. There  seemed  to  be  a  common  desire  to 
purge  out  the  old  leaven,  and  to  keep  the  unity  of 
the  Spirit  in  the  bonds  of  peace." 

In  forming  his  plans  of  labor,  he  resolved  to 
preach  two  carefully-prepared  sermons  in  the  meet- 
ing-house each  Sabbath,  and  to  deliver  an  extem- 
pore lecture  each  week  in  one  of  the  "  out-districts" 
of  the  town,  taking  the  districts  in  rotation.  This 
method  he  found  very  satisfactory,  as  affording  his 
people  and  himself  the  benefit  of  both  the  more 
elaborate  and  the  freer  discourse. 

His  pastoral  visitations  were  also,  after  the  first 
three  or  four  years,  systematized ;  public  notice 
being  given  from  the  pulpit,  each  Sabbath,  of  the 
district  he  would  visit  in  the  ensuing  week ;  the  very 
day  when  he  might  be  expected  by  any  particular 
family  being  specified.  By  this  method  he  gener- 
ally reached  all  the  members  of  his  parish,  and 
held  religious  services  with  all  the  families  of  his 

5  * 


54  Heman   Humphrey, 

flock,  as  he  went  "preaching  and  teaching  from 
house  to  house." 

These  methods  appear  to  have  been  fruitful  in 
promoting  the  spiritual  life  of  the  church  and  the 
conversion  of  souls.  There  was,  however,  for  some 
time,  no  revival.  Mr.  Humphrey  and  his  more 
earnest  parishioners  mourned  and  prayed  over  "  the 
desolations  of  Zion."  "  Our  prayer  was  in  public 
and  in  private,  '  O  Lord,  revive  thy  work.'  And  we 
were  not  alone.  The  Association  to  which  I  be- 
longed was  led  to  the  inquiry,  '  Lord,  what  wilt 
thou  have  us  to  do  ?'  A  monthly  concert  of  prayer 
for  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  was  agreed  upon. 
The  pastors  went  forth,  *  two  and  two,'  upon  a  visit 
to  all  the  parishes  of  the  district.  The  report  at 
the  next  meeting  of  the  Association  was  discourag- 
ing. In  most  places  the  concert  was  thinly  attended. 
There  was  nowhere  a  noise  or  shaking  among  the 
dry  bones.  The  question  went  round — Shall  the 
concert  be  continued  another  year?  The  vote  was 
unanimous  in  the  affirmative.  The  year  wore  away 
like  the  preceding,  without  any  special  token  of  the 
Divine  presence :  our  faith  was  again  put  to  the  test. 
Should  the  concert  be  continued?  No  one  was 
ready  to  give  it  up.  We  agreed  to  make  more 
special  efforts  to  rouse  the  minds  of  Christians  in 
our  several  parishes.  This  condition  prevailed  for 


Religious   Revival.  55 

three  or  four  years.  We  were  ready  to  ask  in  our 
despondency,  'Are  the  mercies  of  God  clean  gone 
for  ever?'  'Will  he  be  favorable  no  more?'  At 
length  the  set  time  came,  and  the  heavens  poured 
down  righteousness.  Eleven  of  our  seventeen  par- 
ishes shared  more  or  less  in  the  blessing.  Our 
mourning  was  turned  to  rejoicing,  and  we  were 
ready  to  say,  one  to  another,  '  What  hath  God 
wrought !  Lo,  this  is  our  God.  We  have  waited 
for  him  and  he  will  save  us ;  this  is  the  Lord ;  we 
have  waited  for  him  ;  we  will  be  glad  and  rejoice  in 
his  salvation  !' " 

In  Fairfield  the  revival  began  suddenly  in  the 
Academy,  the  pupils  of  which  were  mostly  under 
fourteen  years  of  age.  It  soon  extended  throughout 
the  parish.  "  It  was  a  new  thing  in  Fairfield,  and 
'  marvelous  in  their  eyes.'  The  church  was  very 
much  strengthened,  and  the  revival  changed  the 
face  of  things  in  many  of  our  leading  families." 
Owing  to  the  peculiar  conditions  which  had  so  long 
existed  in  the  congregation,  and  in  accordance  with 
the  practice  of  the  day,  none  of  the  converts  were 
admitted  into  the  church  until  after  a  '  probation'  of 
several  months.  Every  human  test  of  conversion 
was  applied,  and  the  younger  converts  were  long 
subjected  to  catechetical  instruction. 

Who,  while  reading  the  history  of  this  revival, 


56  Hcman   Humphrey. 

can  fail  to  think  of  Elijah  upon  Carmel,  praying, 
and  then  sending  his  servant  to  the  outlook,  that  he 
might  scan  the  brazen  horizon  as  it  bent  to  the 
cloudless  sea — praying  and  looking  for  the  cloud 
seven  times  before  the  first  indication  of  rain  was 
seen?  Also,  how,  when  at  last  the  cloud  rose  upon 
the  west,  it  spread  like  magic  over  the  sky,  and 
broke  in  torrents  upon  the  thirsty  land? 

XIV. 

A  S  may  be  surmised  from  the  course  of  this  nar- 
•^*  rative,  Mr.  Humphrey  was  always  ready  to 
identify  himself  with  any  public  movement  which 
promised  to  benefit  society  at  large.  He  had  not 
been  long  settled  at  Fairfield  before  the  "Moral  Soci- 
ety of  Connecticut"  was  formed.  The  object  of  this 
society  was  to  secure  a  better  observance  of  the  Sab- 
bath, and,  if  possible,  to  check  the  tide  of  intemper- 
ance which  was  sweeping  over  the  land.  Whatever 
would  promote  good  morals  appears  also  to  have 
been  included  in  the  plan  of  the  organization.  A 
similar  society  existed  in  Yale  College  while  Mr. 
Humphrey  was  a  student  in  that  institution.  We  find 
among  his  college  papers  an  "  Oration  on  Account- 
ability to  God,"  which  he  delivered  in  1804,  in  the 
early  part,  probably,  of  his  Senior  year,  before  a 


Temperance   Movement.  57 

meeting  of  that  society.  Its  introduction  is  as 
follows  : — 

"  To  unite  all  the  serious  and  well-disposed  mem- 
bers of  Yale  College  in  the  bonds  of  harmony  and 
friendship,  to  promote  the  cause  of  true  morality, 
and  to  check  the  alarming  progress  of  vice,  were 
the  objects  for  which  the  Moral  Society  was  insti- 
tuted. Whatever,  therefore,  has  a  tendency  to  ac- 
complish these  important  objects,  cannot  fail  of 
being  deeply  interesting  to  every  individual  present. 
And  as  a  solemn  and  realizing  sense  of  accountabil- 
ity to  God  is  so  material  here,  and  is  a  subject  which 
so  nearly  concerns  us  all,  I  shall  make  no  apology 
for  introducing  it  on  the  present  occasion." 

Of  the  Temperance  movement  in  this  country, 
Mr.  Humphrey  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  most 
vigorous  pioneers.  In  the  winter  of  1811— 12,  he 
preached  several  sermons  on  this  subject  to  his  con- 
gregation. It  was  a  delicate  subject,  for  very  many 
of  the  families  in  his  congregation  made  daily  use 
of  intoxicating  drinks.  He  assailed  the  evil,  how- 
ever, with  his  wonted  fearlessness.  The  convictions 
which  began  in  the  harvest-field,  when,  as  a  matur- 
ing boy,  he  found  that  he  could  accomplish  more 
without  the  aid  of  spirituous  fluids  than  with  it, 
were  confirmed  by  the  experience  and  the  observa- 
tions of  the  man.  Two  of  the  sermons  alluded  to 


58  Heman   Humphrey. 

are  before  us.  The  first  of  them — a  "  double-ser- 
mon"— is  founded  upon  Prov.  xx.  i:  "Wine  is  a 
mocker :  strong  drink  is  raging."  The  materials 
upon  which  he  depended  for  facts  and  principles 
were  scanty.  "  I  had  not  then  seen  anything  to  aid 
me  except  a  small  pamphlet  by  Dr.  Rush,  of  Phila- 
delphia." But  he  made  good  use  of  his  materials. 

"  I  am  aware" — so  runs  the  sermon,  after  its  in- 
troduction has  brought  out  the  necessities  of  the  case 
— "  that  almost  every  step  of  my  progress  will  be 
on  tender  ground.  It  is  a  melancholy  fact  that 
most,  if  not  all,  even  of  our  religious  assemblies 
contain  some  who  are  themselves  addicted  to  excess- 
ive drinking.  And  where  this  is  not  the  case — if 
indeed  such  a  congregation  can  be  found — many 
who  compose  it  have  friends  that  are  deeply  in- 
volved in  the  guilt  and  shame  of  this  worse  than 
brutal  practice.  For  these  reasons  it  is  difficult, 
perhaps  impossible,  to  avoid  the  appearance  and 
suspicion  of  personalities  in  preaching  against  it. 
Besides,  I  will  frankly  tell  you,  my  hearers,  that  in 
the  course  I  deem  it  my  duty  to  pursue,  I  hope  to 
suggest  something  profitable  for  admonition,  for  re- 
proof and  instruction,  to  the  most  pious  and  tem- 
perate part  of  my  congregation.  While,  on  the 
one  hand,  I  solemnly  disclaim  any  intention  unne- 
cessarily to  wound  the  feelings  of  those  who  hear 


Sermons   on    Temperance.  59 

me.  I  will  not  knowingly  '  daub  with  untempered 
mortar.'  It  is  a  case  of  life  and  death.  The  evils 
of  intemperate  drinking  must  be  faithfully  pointed 
out.  Those  who  have  begun  to  go  after  the  monster 
must  be  pulled  back  with  friendly  violence.  The 
innocent  and  inexperienced  must  be  warned." 

Then  follows  an  exposition  of  the  text : 

"  Wine  is  a  mocker.  It  makes  fools  of  those  who 
use  it  to  excess.  Then  they  are  prepared  to  scoff 
at  the  conscientious,  and  treat  even  things  sacred 
with  mockery.  Strong  drink  is  raging.  It  gives 
its  victims  no  rest.  It  creates  an  appetite  which 
nothing  can  satisfy.  It  rages  like  a  fever  in  the 
body,  like  a  demon  in  the  head,  like  a  wild  beast  in 
the  family,  like  a  pestilence  in  the  community." 

We  have  no  space  for  the  glowing  arguments 
which  follow.  They  have  since  become  familiar  in 
the  literature  of  this  reformation.  One  leaf  we  give 
from  his  own  observation  : 

"  I  have  seen  the  fires  of  genius  extinguished  by 
strong  drink.  I  have  known  men  who  once  were 
numbered  with  the  wise  and  honorable,  gradually 
reduced  almost  to  a  level  with  idiots  by  intemper- 
ance. I  have  seen  the  masculine  and  discriminating 
mind  dwindling  into  premature  old  age  and  second 
childhood.  I  have  known  of  more  than  one  prom- 
ising youth,  tender  and  well  beloved,  of  high  hopes 


60  If cman   Humphrey. 

and  of  flattering  prospects,  ensnared  and  taken  by 
the  subtle  enemy.  The  doting  parent  began  to 
tremble  and  weep  over  his  son.  Hope  and  comfort 
fled  from  the  abode  of  him  who  begat  and  of  her 
who  bore  him.  The  young  man  who  had  begun  to 
attract  the  attention  and  to  gain  the  confidence  of 
the  public,  neglected  the  culture  of  his  mind,  be- 
numbed all  his  faculties  by  excess,  and  sank  away 
into  insignificance  and  contempt.  When  I  extend 
my  view,  and  think  how  many  thousands  of  minds 
have  been  destroyed  in  the  same  way,  it  reminds  me 
of  some  noble  city  in  ruins.  I  walk  over  the  spot 
where  it  stood,  examine  with  painful  reflections  the 
fallen  columns  and  broken  arches,  survey  the  broad 
foundations  of  magnificent  buildings  which  are  no 
more,  and  sigh  to  think  the  glory  is  departed  for 
ever." 

The  double-shotted  sermon  of  the  following  Sun- 
day was  upon  the  text,  "  Look  not  upon  the  wine 
when  it  is  red,"  etc.,  Prov.  xxiii.  31,  32.  In  this  he 
considers  "  The  causes  and  the  insidious  progress 
of  Intemperance."  Wine-bibbers  received  no  more 
comfort  from  this  discourse  than  did  the  devotees 
of  distilled  liquor  from  the  first.  "It  is  the  bad  pre- 
eminence of  the  rich  and  the  great  to  ruin  their 
health,  drown  their  reason,  extinguish  their  natural 
affections  and  murder  their  souls  with  wine.  It  is  a 


Total  Abstinence.  61 

happy  circumstance,  that,  with  us,  the  common 
people  cannot  afford  to  share  in  this  expensive  kind 
of  intemperance.  When,  however,  I  say  that  ex- 
cess in  wine  is  mostly  confined  to  the  rich  and  the 
great,  I  mean  nothing  more  than  that  many  such 
are  addicted  to  it.  Can  this  qualified  charge  be 
denied?  ....  If  we  could  know  the  whole  truth, 
how  many  bankruptcies  are  produced  by  this  expen- 
sive mode  of  sinning  against  God  and  of  plunging 
both  soul  and  body  into  hell !  How  many  creditors 
are  defrauded,  how  many  families  are  beggared, 
how  many  hearts  are  broken  !" 

The  ground  of  this  sermon  was  really  that  of 
Total  Abstinence — a  ground  not  generally  taken 
by  the  most  of  the  advocates  of  temperance  up  to 
that  day. 

The  fervid  words  thus  spoken  in  Fairfield  were 
not  without  effect.  They  were  reiterated  in  other 
places.  The  subject  was  brought  before  the  Fair- 
field  West  Association,  with  which  Mr.  Humphrey 
and  his  church  were  connected.  Resolutions  were 
adopted,  by  which  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  was  in- 
terdicted at  meetings  of  the  Association,  and  pledges 
were  made  to  discourage,  by  conversation  and  by 
example,  both  the  use  and  the  vending  of  spirituous 
liquors.  Mr.  Humphrey  was  appointed  chairman 
of  a  committee  to  prepare  an  address  to  the  churches 

6 


62  Heman   Humphrey. 

on  the  subject.  This  address  was  full  of  the  argu- 
ments and  appeals  which  had  been  presented  in  the 
pulpit  at  Fairfield  It  was  widely  circulated,  and 
produced  a  marked  result. 

"  The  reports  of  ministers  and  delegates  at  the 
next  annual  meeting  were  exceedingly  encouraging. 
It  appeared  that  a  great  change  had  been  produced 
in  the  views  and  habits  of  all  the  more  enlightened 
classes  throughout  the  district.  In  some  churches 
and  congregations  the  consumption  of  ardent  spirits 
had  been  reduced  one-third,  in  others,  one-half,  and 
in  others,  more  than  half.  In  nearly  all  the  respectable 
families  within  our  limits,  the  decanters  and  glasses 
had  been  swept  from  the  sideboards ;  a  great  many 
of  our  church  members  and  others  had  adopted  the 
principle  of  total  abstinence ;  some  of  our  largest 
farmers  carried  the  principle  successfully  through 
haying  and  harvesting  ;  all  our  ministers  had  entered 
heartily  into  the  reformation ;  and  I  am  confident 
that  from  that  day  to  this,  embracing  a  period  of 
twenty-two  years,  no  ardent  spirit  has  been  provided 
at  their  stated  meetings." 

No  more  consistent  advocate  of  these  principles 
has  ever  been  found  than  was  Mr.  Humphrey  to 
the  close  of  his  career. 

In  1815,  he  preached  a  sermon  before  the 
Connecticut  Moral  Society,  at  New  Haven,  which 


His   Marriage.  63 

was   printed,   and   is  full   of  impulse  and  encour- 
agement. 

XV. 

ON  the  2oth  of  April,  1808,  one  year  after  his 
settlement  in  Fairfield,  Mr.  Humphrey  was 
married  to  Sophia  Porter,  only  daughter  of  Deacon 
Noah  Porter,  of  Farmington.  A  fitting  tribute  to 
her  memory,  by  one  of  her  sons-in-law,  may  be 
found  at  the  close  of  this  volume.  In  the  autobio- 
graphical sketches  occurs  a  reference  to  this  event, 
which  is  full  of  devout  thankfulness  to  that  God  who 
provided  such  an  "  help  meet  for  him."  No  wife 
was  ever  loved  more  truly ;  no  husband  was  ever 
more  honored.  No  children  ever  more  revered  a 
mother  before  whom  it  was  a  delight  to  rise  up  and 
call  her  blessed,  than  did  her  offspring. 

XVI. 

r  I  "'HE  ten  years  of  life  in  Fairfield  wore  swiftly 
•*-     and  happily  away.     The  causes  which  led  to 
a  severance  of  the  pastoral  relation  at  the  end  of 
this  period  were  these  : 

The  salary  of  six  hundred  dollars,  which  was  at 
first  sufficient,  became  inadequate  for  the  support  of 
a  growing  family.  The  war  of  1812  occasioned  a 
rapid  advance  in  the  prices  of  the  necessaries  of 


64  Hcman    Humphrey* 

life.  The  first  expedient  for  supplying  deficiencies 
was,  to  receive  a  few  boys,  pupils  in  the  Academy, 
into  the  family  as  boarders.  But  this  expedient  told 
severely  upon  the  health  of  Mrs.  Humphrey,  never, 
in  that  portion  of  her  life,  very  strong.  Many  a 
night  she  sat  at  her  table,  repairing  the  raiment  of 
her  boarders,  until  the  "  wee  sma'  hours  ayant  the 
twal,"  only  to  rise  before  the  dawn  to  superintend 
the  preparation  of  their  meals ;  her  "help"  being  of 
the  most  unreliable  sort. 

The  health  of  Mr.  Humphrey  also  yielded  under 
the  pressure  of  his  labors.  His  eyes,  in  conse- 
quence of  what  he  terms  injudicious  habits  of  study, 
suddenly  failed.  For  several  months  he  was  unable 
to  use  them  in  reading,  writing  or  preaching. 
When  at  length  he  began  to  recover  their  use,  he 
employed  an  amanueusis ;  and  the  fair,  round  cha- 
racters of  his  wife's  penmanship  were  often  found  in 
his  manuscripts.  We  have  one  sermon  before  us, 
prepared  at  this  period,  in  which  his  own  chirogra- 
phy  alternates  curiously  with  that  of  his  assistant. 
Some  difficulty  in  the  way  of  increasing  the  salary 
was  also  experienced,  partly  from  the  indifference 
of  a  few  who  still  clung  to  their  prejudices  in  respect 
of  the  Half-way  Covenant.  It  gradually  became 
evident  that  the  pastoral  tie  must  be  broken.  In 
1816,  the  vacant  pulpit  of  Middletown  was  virtually 


Dismission    at   Fairfield.  65 

offered  him.  It  was  the  pulpit  which,  of  all  others 
in  Connecticut,  he  would  have  preferred  ;  but  at  that 
time  the  fruits  of  the  revival  we  have  described  were 
ungathered.  He  could  not  then  leave  his  harvest- 
field.  The  year  passed  ;  the  harvest  was  over.  He 
announced  his  intention  to  request  a  dismission. 
Amid  many  remonstrances  a  meeting  of  the  Conso- 
ciation was  called,  and  "  after  a  full  hearing, "yet  in 
the  face  of  many  protests,  both  from  the  church  and 
the  members  of  the  Consociation,  he  was  dismissed, 
May,  1817. 

XVII. 

LEAVING  his  family  in  Fairfield,  he  preached  a 
few  Sabbaths  in  Hartford.  While  there  he 
received  an  urgent  invitation  to  visit  a  vacant  Con- 
gregational church  in  Pittsfield,  Massachusetts.  He 
complied  with  the  invitation.  He  found  the  church 
in  a  somewhat  critical  condition.  Two  divided  por- 
tions of  one  "  tribe"  were  seeking  reunion.  A  few 
years  previous  a  political  convulsion  had  rent  the 
church.  One  party  withdrew,  built  a  new  meeting- 
house and  settled  a  minister,  Rev.  Mr.  Punderson. 
"The  other  party  retained  their  aged  pastor,  and, 
after  his  death,  settled  his  son,  Rev.  Mr.  Allen. 
There  was  for  some  time  great  bitterness  of  feeling 

on  both  sides ;  but  it  gradually  subsided,  and  at  the 
6*  E 


66  Heman   Humphrey. 

end  of  seven  years  there  was  found  to  be  a  strong 
and  general  disposition  to  reunite.  There  was  no 
need  of  two  congregations.  One  minister  could 
care  for  all."  Some  opposed  reunion,  but  both 
pastors  favored  it.  To  promote  it,  both  resigned, 
and  the  two  congregations  came  together  under  the 
old  roof.  The  difficult  process  of  organic  reunion 
was  now  to  be  promoted.  Mr.  Humphrey  was  soon 
invited  to  undertake  the  task.  He  shrank  from  it. 
He  feared  the  effect  of  the  severe  climate  of  the 
Berkshire  hills  upon  his  family.  His  "politics" 
might  be  regarded  with  suspicion.  But  some  one 
must  become  their  pastor.  "I  did  not  wish  to  go  to 
Pittsfield.  Not  that  I  had  any  objection  to  the  peo- 
ple. They  were  an  intelligent  congregation.  There 
was  a  good  degree  of  active  piety  in  the  church, 
and  they  had  treated  me  kindly.  But  the  congre- 
gation was  spread  over  the  whole  town — six  miles 
square.  They  were  united,  but  not  amalgamated. 
A  good  deal  of  the  old  leaven  remained.  Some  of 
the  prominent  families  stood  aloof.  And,  to  increase 
my  perplexity,  I  was  strongly  solicited  to  return  and 
be  resettled  over  the  church  and  congregation  in 
Fairfield.  I  was  assured  of  a  competent  support. 
But  my  convictions  of  duty  at  length  overcame  my 
objections.  I  became  convinced  that  the  '  call'  was 
from  a  higher  source  than  the  voice  of  the  people, 


Installation    at   Pittsfield.  67 

and  that  it  was  not  for  me  to  choose,  but  to  obey.  I 
accepted  the  call,  and  was  installed  in  November, 
1817,  by  a  council."  Rev.  Dr.  Hyde,  of  Lee, 
preached  the  installation  sermon. 

The  call  reveals  the  transition  then  taking  place 
from  the  old  parish  system  to  that  of  modern  times. 
By  the  then  existing  laws  of  Massachusetts,  the 
whole  population  of  each  town  was  taxable  for  the 
support  of  the  pastor,  except  such  as  filed  certificates 
setting  forth  that  they  belonged  to  some  other  than 
the  Congregational  denomination.  Thus  the  settle- 
ment of  a  pastor  was  a  "  town-meeting  affair." 
Certain  lands  for  the  use  of  the  pastor  were  set 
apart  by  the  township,  and  the  salary  was  thus  pro- 
vided for  by  a  sort  of  Puritanic  union  of  Church  and 
State. 

Mr.  Humphrey's  call  is  in  these  words  : 

"  At  a  legal  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and  other 
inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Pittsfield,  belonging  to  the 
Congregational  Society  in  said  town,  qualified  by 
law  to  vote  in  town  affairs,  at  the  Town-House  in 
said  town,  on  Monday  the  I5th  day  of  September, 
1817, 

"  Voted,  That  Joshua  Danforth  be  moderator. 

"  Voted,  That  the  town  agree  to  unite  with  the 
Church  of  the  Congregational  Society,  in  inviting 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Humphrey  to  settle  over  them  in  the 


68  Heman   Humphrey. 

Gospel  ministry :  provided  an  agreement  can  be 
made  with  him  for  his  salary  agreeable  to  the  views 
of  the  town. 

"  Voted)  That  in  case  the  Rev.  Heman  Hum- 
phrey shall  conclude  to  accept  the  invitation  of  the 
town  to  settle  over  them  in  the  work  of  the  Gospel 
ministry,  they  will,  and  do,  hereby  agree  to  grant 
him  the  sum  of  nine  hundred  dollars  as  his  stated 
salary,  so  long  as  he  shall  continue  their  minister  as 
aforesaid  :  provided  that  he  shall  relinquish  to  the 
town  all  claims  that  he  may  have  to  the  ministry 
lands  or  property  belonging  to  the  town. 

"  Voted,  That  Josiah  Bissell,  Esq.,  Gen.  John 
B.  Root,  Mr.  Samuel  D.  Colt  and  Nathan  Willis, 
Esq.,  be  a  committee  to  convey  the  invitation  to 
Rev.  Heman  Humphrey,  of  Fairfield,  Connecticut, 
to  settle  over  the  Congregational  Church  and  So- 
ciety in  this  town,  in  the  work  of  the  Gospel  minis- 
try ;  and  who  are  also  authorized  to  offer  him  the 
sum  of  $900  as  his  annual  stated  salary,  on  the  con- 
ditions stated  in  the  preceding  vote." 

When  Mr.  Humphrey  was  installed  the  whole 
town  virtually  formed  his  parish.  A  feeble  Baptist 
church  existed  in  the  western  portion  of  the  town- 
ship ;  a  few  Methodists  were  scattered  here  and 
there,  but  enjoyed  no  regular  preaching.  Some 
families  neglected  the  Sanctuary ;  but  with  the  ex- 


Description    of  Piltsfield.  69 

ceptions   noted,   all  were   under  his   pastoral  care, 
whether  they  attended  public  worship  or  not. 

Pittsfield  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  towns  in 
Massachusetts.  It  occupies  a  high  plateau,  en- 
circled by  the  lower  ranges  of  the  Green  Moun- 
tains. The  whole  horizon  is  rimmed  by  hills.  On 
the  east  is  the  range  from  which  the  Ashley  pours 
its  arterial  streams  for  the  water-supply  of  the 
village.  On  the  west  is  a  somewhat  irregular 
range,  from  the  crown  of  which  one  may  see  the 
valley  of  the  peaceful  Hudson  spreading  its  emerald 
floor  to  the  base  of  the  Catskills.  On  the  north  the 
blue  summits  of  Saddle  Mountain  close  in  the 
view.  The  southern  horizon  is  pierced  by  the  val- 
ley of  the  Housatonic.  Nearly  all  the  hills  are  par- 
tially shorn  of  their  forests.  Rich  pasture-lands 
creep  up  the  slopes,  and  appear  to  end  in  sharp  but 
softened  lines  against  the  sky.  Four  beautiful  lakes 
present  their  mirrors  to  the  passing  clouds  and  to 
the  fringes  of  foliage  on  their  shores.  The  atmos- 
phere is  famed  for  its  purity,  and  for  the  brilliancy 
of  the  effects  of  sunlight  and  shadow  produced  in 
summer  days.  Nowhere  are  sunsets  more  beauti- 
ful ;  nowhere  are  beautiful  sunsets  more  frequent. 
The  western  hills  are  distant  enough  for  long  per- 
spectives of  evening  cloud  ;  they  are  near  enough 
to  catch  all  the  glories  of  the  departing  light.  They 


70  Neman   Humphrey. 

often  appear  as  if  transfigured,  in  their  dreamy  mists 
of  mingled  rose  and  gold. 

When  Mr.  Humphrey  was  installed,  the  village 
consisted  of  four  streets,  broad  and  shaded,  meeting 
at  a  small  park  in  the  centre.  The  names  of  these 
streets  were  derived  from  the  four  points  of  the  com- 
pass toward  which  they  led.  At  the  focus  of  the 
village,  in  the  centre  of  the  park,  stood  a  forest  elm, 
which  unfolded  its  leafy  canopy  from  the  summit  of 
a  tall  and  shapely  trunk.  This  elm  was  long  the 
pride  of  the  town,  and  was  preserved  with  jealous 
care  for  many  years  after  age  and  storm  had  de- 
prived it  of  its  beauty.  It  was  not  removed  until 
decay  had  so  weakened  it  that  it  creaked  and 
threatened  to  fall  in  every  unusual  wind.  When  at 
last  it  was  removed  in  consideration  of  public 
safety,  the  inhabitants  gathered  sadly  to  see  it  fall. 
Twigs  and  leaves,  as  well  as  branches,  were  borne 
away  as  mementoes.  The  sounder  portions  of  the 
huge  trunk  were  cut  and  shaped  into  little  articles 
to  be  preserved  by  children's  children. 

Directly  opposite  this  elm  stood  the  meeting-house 
of  the  Congregational  church — a  large  and  well  fin- 
ished structure  of  wood.  It  has  now  given  place  to 
a  more  enduring  edifice  of  stone,  in  the  tower  of 
which  the  clock,  presented  by  a  wealthy  citizen  in 
1823,  still  marks  the  hours.  Mr.  Humphrey's  resi- 


His    Growing  Influence.  71 

dence  was  on  East  street,  in  a  house  since  owned 
by  the  Campbell  family.  It  has  been  greatly 
altered ;  but  the  magnificent  maples,  many  of 
which  were  planted  by  Mr.  Humphrey,  still  stand 
before  it. 

When  he  assumed  the  charge  of  the  congrega- 
tion, "  very  few  of  its  leading  men,  such  as  law- 
yers, physicians  and  merchants,  were  professors  of 
religion."  They  were,  however,  regular  attendants 
of  public  worship.  The  first  object  of  the  new  pas- 
tor was  to  win  the  respect  of  all  for  the  pulpit. 
But  little  pastoral  visiting  was,  therefore,  attempted 
during  the  first  winter.  The  effects  of  careful  study 
being  realized,  systematic  visitation  began  in  the 
opening  spring,  and  was  vigorously  conducted 
through  the  succeeding  months.  The  old  methods 
so  successful  in  Fairfield  were  adopted.  A  weekly 
lecture  was  established  in  the  out-districts.  The 
Sunday-school,  which  then  began  to  take  a  recog- 
nized place  among  the  institutions  of  the  Church, 
received  much  attention.  The  baptized  children  of 
the  church  were  collected  once  in  three  months,  for 
public  catechetical  instruction.  A  Bible-class  of 
young  women  was  also  established.  Soon  all  was 
working  smoothly,  and  success  crowned  every  form 
of  pastoral  labor.  Old  wounds  began  to  heal,  and 
the  congregation  gradually  became  organically  one. 


72  He  man   Humphrey. 

Many  anecdotes  of  Mr.  Humphrey's  skill  and 
prudence  in  winning  the  disaffected  or  the  indiffer- 
ent are  still  related  by  his  parishioners.  One  of 
those  oftenest  repeated  is  that  of  his  conquering  the 
heart  of  a  farmer  who  had  steadily  refused  to  attend 
the  Sabbath  services.  By  visiting  him  in  his  har- 
vest-field, and,  without  a  word  of  professional  exhor- 
tation, engaging  him  in  conversation  upon  farming, 
and  then  taking  his  "cradle,"  cutting  a  swath  of 
grain,  as  if  he  had  been  used  only  to  a  farmer's  life 
all  his  days. 

His  educational  tastes  also  had  free  exercise  in  the 
schools  of  the  town,  which  he  regularly  visited  as  a 
member  of  the  school-committee.  These  visits  gave 
him  great  influence,  particularly  over  the  children 
of  the  parish. 

XVIII. 

r  I  "HE  principal  event  of  his  ministry  in  Pittsfield 
•*-  was  a  remarkable  revival,  whose  history  has 
been  perpetuated  as  prominent  in  the  movements  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Nettleton's  day.  Up  to  1820,  no  general 
revival  had  ever  been  known  in  the  town.  In  the 
spring  of  that  year,  revivals  began  to  occur  in  some 
of  the  neighboring  villages.  The  church  in  Pitts- 
field  was  roused  to  unusual  prayer.  On  the  first 
Sabbath  in  May  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 


Religious   Interest.  73 

per  was  celebrated  with  unusual  solemnity.  Imme- 
diately afterward,  the  early  rain  appeared.  An 
interesting  journal  kept  by  the  pastor,  records  the 
history  of  several  succeeding  weeks. 

About  forty,  most  of  whom  were  received  into  the 
church  in  the  autumn,  were  the  fruits  of  this  sum- 
mer's awakening. 

In  May  following,  Rev.  Asahel  Nettleton,  the 
evangelist,  came  to  visit  Mr.  Humphrey,  for  the 
purpose  of  rest  from  his  exhausting  labors.  A  gen- 
eral desire  to  hear  him  was  immediately  expressed. 
He  did  not  yield  to  it  at  first ;  but  being  persuaded 
to  deliver  an  evening  lecture,  he  saw  such  signs  of 
encouragement  that  his  rest  was  soon  at  an  end. 
"  In  two  or  three  weeks  we  had  unmistakable  evi- 
dence that  God  had  again  begun  to  revive  his  work. 
Our  lecture-room  was  crowded ;  men  were  there 
who  had  not  been  wont  to  attend  our  evening  meet- 
ings, and  there  was  a  very  marked  solemnity  in  the 
congregation  on  the  Sabbath.  Through  the  whole 
month  of  June  the  interest  increased  among  all 
classes ;  toward  the  close,  very  rapidly.  By  the 
middle  of  July  the  work  was  at  its  height.  It  per- 
vaded all  classes,  and  extended  to  all  parts  of  the 
town ;  but  principally  affected  heads  of  families, 
particularly  the  prominent  men  of  the  village.  The 
whole  face  of  the  community  was  changed.  Re- 

*  7 


74  Heman   Humphrey. 

ligion  was  the  all-absorbing  topic  of  conversation. 
The  revival  continued  all  summer.  On  the  first 
Sabbath  of  November  the  harvest  was  gathered  in  ; 
and  a  glorious  harvest  it  was.  Between  eighty  and 
ninety,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  high  and  the  low, 
stood  up  together  in  the  long,  broad  aisle,  and  before 
angels  and  men,  avouched  the  Lord  to  be  their  God, 
and  were  received  into  the  church.  Never  had  such 
a  scene  been  witnessed  in  Pittsfield.  The  joy  of  the 
church  overflowed  in  tears  and  thanksgivings.  I  am 
sure  there  must  have  been  great  joy  in  heaven." 

Many  of  the  incidents  of  this  revival  are  of  un- 
usual interest.  We  record  but  one,  perhaps  the  most 
striking  of  all.  On  the  Fourth  of  July,  the  religious 
interest  was  so  absorbing  that  it  was  determined  to 
substitute  for  the  usual  noisy  celebration  of  the  day, 
a  service  with  sermon  in  the  meeting-house.  Mr. 
Humphrey  was  designated  to  preach  the  sermon. 
The  meeting  was  appointed  to  be  held  at  two  o'clock 
p.  M.  As,  however,  he  was  busy  on  the  morning 
of  the  Fourth  in  preparing  his  discourse,  he  was 
waited  upon  by  a  committee  of  young  men,  who 
informed  him  that  they  had  arranged  for  an  oration 
of  the  usual  sort,  to  be  delivered  in  the  forenoon,  in 
the  meeting-house.  He  was  desired  to  "  open  the 
meeting  with  prayer."  These  young  men  had  been 
incited  to  this  act  of  opposition  by  some  of  the  ene- 


Fourth    of  "July.  75 

mies  of  the  revival,  in  the  village.  The  usual  "  In- 
dependence dinner"  was  also  to  be  held  in  a  public 
hall  near  the  church.  Mr.  Humphrey  declined  the 
invitation  of  the  committee ;  but  the  oration  was 
delivered. 

The  hour  for  the  religious  service  arrived,  and  the 
house  was  filled  with  a  solemn  and  reverent  congre- 
gation. The  young  men  and  their  companions  of 
the  morning  assembly  gathered  in  the  park  in  front 
of  the  church,  and  amused  themselves  with  fire- 
crackers, etc.,  as  the  service  went  on.  The  hour 
for  the  public  dinner  approached.  Toasts  were  to 
be  drunk,  according  to  the  usual  custom,  to  the 
firing  of  cannon  in  the  park.  A  promise  had  been 
made  that  all  such  noisy  demonstrations  should  be 
deferred  until  the  close  of  the  religious  services. 
But  as  the  sermon  was  protracted,  the  celebrators  on 
the  green  became  impatient.  They  procured  a  drum 
and  fife,  and  marched  beneath  the  windows  of  the 
meeting-house.  A  few  of  the  congregation  went 
quietly  out  to  silence  the  noise,  but  poorly  suc- 
ceeded. The  service  within  went  on  amidst  the 
disturbance.  The  "  patriotic"  crowd  resolved  to  try 
the  effect  of  gunpowder,  and  applied  the  match  to 
their  cannon. 

"The  first  discharge  shook  the  house.  My  text 
was,  '  If  the  Son  make  you  free,  ye  shall  be  free 


76  Heman   Humphrey. 

indeed.''  It  was  one  of  the  most  appropriate  I  could 
think  of  for  the  occasion.  In  two  or  three  minutes 
there  was  another  discharge.  The  shock  of  the 
first  being  over,  the  second  produced  a  solemnity 
more  profound  than  the  sermon  would  have  occa- 
sioned, and  gave  me  opportunity  for  enlargement 
which  I  had  not  anticipated.  I  had  reached  the 
application  of  my  sermon.  By  the  time  of  the  third 
discharge  the  whole  congregation  seemed  perfectly 
composed.  As  the  cannonading  went  on,  I  took  oc- 
casion to  hold  up  the  contrast  between  Christ's  free- 
men and  the  servants  of  Satan,  as  strikingly  illus- 
trated both  without  and  within  the  house.  By  this 
train  of  extempore  remark  I  added  something  like  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  to  the  length  of  the  sermon. 
Each  discharge  of  the  cannon  overpowered  my 
voice  for  a  moment,  but  I  went  on.  When  I  had 
finished,  I  called  upon  Rev.  Dr.  Shepherd,  of  Lenox, 
who  was  present,  to  lead  in  prayer.  His  remark- 
ably heavy  voice  sounded  triumphantly  over  the 
disturbance.  When  we  came  out,  some  of  our  more 
prominent  men,  among  whom  was  the  sheriff  of  the 
county,  were  very  much  excited,  and  proposed  to 
have  the  leading  rioters  arrested  and  punished.  I 
said,  '  By  no  means.  In  attacking  us  they  have 
shot  themselves  through  and  through.  They  have 
so  outraged  the  feelings  of  the  whole  community 


Result   of  Disturbances.  77 

that  we  have  only  to  leave  them  to  themselves,  and 
go  on  with  our  Master's  work,  praying  God  to  give 
them  repentance.' 

"I  have  never  witnessed  a  more  striking  example 
of  the  moral  sublime  than  on  that  day  and  evening. 
Those  who  had  been  foremost  in  the  disturbance 
hastened  away  as  soon  as  they  could.  By  eight 
o'clock  there  was  scarcely  a  soul  left  upon  the  green  ; 
whereas,  on  all  former  like  occasions,  a  large  num- 
ber lingered  there  and  kept  up  their  '  celebration' 
until  late  at  night.  The  evening  lecture,  which  had 
been  appointed  from  the  desk  under  the  cannon's 
roar,  was  unusually  full  and  solemn.  The  work 
went  on  for  some  days  with  more  power  than  ever. 
We  had  but  to  '  stand  still  and  see  the  salvation  of 
the  Lord.'" 

A  writer  in  the  Charleston  (S.  C.)  Intelligencer, 
describing  this  scene,  says  : 

"  So  skillfully  did  the  preacher  allude  to  and 
apply  his  discourse  to  the  conduct  of  the  opposition 
out  of  doors ;  such  advantage  did  he  take  of  every 
blast  of  the  cannon  and  every  play  of  the  drum,  by 
some  well-pointed  remark,  that  it  all  went  like  a 
two-edged  sword  to  the  hearts  of  listening  sinners. 
Indeed  Mr.  H.  afterward  informed  me,  that  had  he 
showed  the  heads  of  his  sermon  to  his  opposers  pre- 
viously, and  earnestly  requested  them,  when  he 

7* 


78  Heman   Humphrey. 

reached  such  a  point  in  his  sermon  to  fire,  and 
when  he  reached  another  point  to  fire,  they  could 
not  more  effectually  have  subserved  the  purpose  of 
his  discourse  than  they  did.  Those  gentlemen  who 
had  walked  in  the  opposers'  procession,  hung  their 
heads,  were  disgusted,  and  in  some  instances  were 
convicted  deeply  of  sin.  One  gentleman  who  had 
been  previously  somewhat  serious,  declared  to  me 
that  every  shot  of  the  cannon  pierced  his  soul,  filled 
him  with  an  indescribable  horror,  and  brought  him, 
through  the  blessing  of  God,  to  such  a  hatred  and 
detestation  of  sin  in  himself  and  others,  as  con- 
strained him  quickly  to  fly  to  Christ. 

"  I  sat  near  the  Rev.  Mr.  Nettleton  ;  and  so  de- 
lighted was  he  with  the  discourse,  and  so  accu- 
rately -prescient,  too,  was  he  of  the  result,  that 
whenever  an  apt  allusion  dropped  from  the  lips  of 
the  preacher,  he  would  turn  round  with  a  holy 
smile  ;  and  whenever  a  shot  from  the  cannon  pierced 
our  ears  he  would  say — it  would  involuntarily  es- 
cape from  him — '  That  is  good — that  is  good? 
Speaking  afterward  of  the  events  of  this  day  he  ob- 
served to  me  :  '  Did  you  not  feel  calm  ?  I  thought 
there  was  a  deep  majestic  calm  overspreading  the 
minds  of  Christians.'" 

Great  care  was  taken  in  the  instruction  of  the 
converts  of  this  revival ;  and  they,  with  their  chil- 


Invitation    to    Amhcrst.  79 

dren,  have  been  among  the  most  honored  members 
of  the  church  to  the  present  day. 

The  experience  thus  obtained  confirmed  in  Mr. 
Humphrey's  heart  a  love  for  revivals  which  he 
never  lost.  Few  have  been  more  judicious  and 
successful  in  promoting  and  conducting  them  than 
he.  He  was  often  invited  to  aid  his  brother  pastors 
in  their  revival  labors.  In  the  winter  of  1822  he 
was  especially  active  in  assisting  Rev.  Sereno 
Dvvight,  of  the  Park  Street  Church,  Boston.  He 
was  always  a  firm  friend  of  Dr.  Nettleton ;  and, 
when  occasion  required,  his  staunch  defender. 


XIX. 

TN  1823,  Mr.  Humphrey  received  the  degree  of 
-*-  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  Middlebury  College. 
He  had  at  this  time  before  him  an  invitation  to  as- 
sume the  Presidency  of  the  Collegiate  Institution 
which  now  bears  the  name  of  Amherst  College. 
Rev.  Dr.  Moore,  the  first  President,  died  in  June, 
1823.  In  July,  Dr.  Humphrey  was  elected  to  the 
vacant  position.  He  describes  this  appointment  as 
occasioning  "the  most  trying  crisis  of  my  pastoral 
life." 

He  was  ardently  attached  to  his  people.     They 
were  equally  attached  to  him.     To  go,  was  to  leave 


8o  Heman   Humphrey. 

the  pastoral  office  in  one  of  the  largest  and  most  de- 
sirable congregations  of  the  State.  As  pastor  he 
was  eminently  successful ;  could  he  hope  to  be 
equally  successful  as  President?  The  Institution  to 
which  he  was  invited  had  no  permanent  foundation, 
except  in  the  hearts  and  the  prayers  of  its  friends. 
A  petition  for  a  college  charter  had  the  year  before 
been  unceremoniously  thrown  out  of  the  Legislature 
of  the  State,  nearly  all  the  representatives,  including 
those  from  Amherst  itself,  voting  against  it.  Yet 
he  could  not  dismiss  the  invitation  without  a  thought. 
His  parishioners,  when  they  learned  that  the  invita- 
tion had  been  extended,  smiled  ;  when  they  learned 
that  he  was  considering  it,  they  remonstrated  ;  when 
he  proposed  a  council  of  his  brethren  to  aid  him  in 
deciding  the  question  of  duty,  they  declined.  He 
was  obliged  to  call  a  council  without  their  co- 
operation. That  council  advised  him  to  accept  the 
Presidency.  The  congregation  most  reluctantly 
consented,  and  the  pastoral  bond  was  dissolved. 
"  Nothing  now  remained  but  to  make  arrangements 
for  my  removal,  and  to  take  those  sad  farewells, 
which  cost  me  more  anguish  of  soul  than  anything 
in  my  long  life,  except  the  loss  of  children."  These 
farewells  over,  he  removed  to  Amherst,  and  was 
inducted  into  office,  October  15,  1823. 


The    Town    of  Amherst.  81 

XX. 

A  MHERST  is  scarcely  less  beautiful  as  a  village 
^*  than  Pittsfield.  Its  horizons  are  wider,  and  their 
outlines  are  less  bold.  Standing  upon  the  tower  of  the 
college  chapel,  one's  eye  follows  the  regular  line  of 
the  parapet  of  the  eastern  hills,  till,  bending  around 
to  the  south,  that  line  is  lost  in  the  undulations  of 
the  Holyoke  range.  At  the  western  extremity  of 
this  range,  Mt.  Holyoke  itself — one  of  the  favorite 
mountain  resorts  of  New  England — stands  out  like 
the  last  gate-tower  of  some  broken  Cyclopean  wall. 
Far  in  the  north,  like  another  similar  tower,  stands 
Sugar-Loaf  Mountain.  Between  the  two  the  whole 
west  lies  open  ;  not  indeed  as  a  plain,  but  as  a  valley 
whose  farther  slope  rises  gently  to  the  sky,  broken 
here  and  there  by  low,  intermediate  hills,  one  of  the 
most  prominent  of  which  is  Mt.  Warner.  Through 
this  valley  flows  the  Connecticut,  revealing  itself 
here  and  there  in  silvery  glimpses.  In  the  middle 
distance  lies  Hadley,  folded  in  by  a  broad  curve  in 
the  river.  Beyond  is  Northampton,  so  long  the  home 
of  President  Edwards.  This  whole  valley  is  often, 
during  the  autumnal  season,  shrouded  in  morning 
mists,  which,  leveled  above  by  the  upper  winds, 
spread  out  like  a  sea.  Then  Holyoke  becomes  a 
mountain  shore,  Mt.  Warner  an  island.  The  glow- 

F 


82  H eman   Humphrey. 

ing  maples,  touched  by  recent  frosts,  and  showing 
themselves  in  some  places  above  the  surface  of  the 
lake  of  cloud,  appear  to  rest  like  clumps  of  flowers 
upon  its  bosom.  Here  and  there  a  lofty  pine  shows 
its  top,  like  a  ship  becalmed,  its  sails  all  spread. 
The  sun  quickly  dissolves  the  vision ;  but  the  mem- 
ory of  it  lingers  in  the  mind  of  the  beholder  for 
many  a  day. 

The  President's  house,  in  which  all  the  younger 
children  of  our  family  were  born,  was  a  square 
brick  structure,  which  still  stands  under  its  sycamore 
shades  in  the  heart  of  the  village.  When  Dr.  Hum- 
phrey assumed  the  presidency,  the  college  could 
boast  of  but  a  single  building,  which  was  used  for 
a  variety  of  purposes.  The  village  meeting-house, 
a  weather-beaten  structure,  stained  or  mottled  by 
dark  yellow  paint,  stood  directly  opposite  the  Col- 
lege Hall,  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  Cabinet 
and  Observatory.  This  structure  we  well  remem- 
ber as  the  Sunday  resort  of  our  boyhood.  The 
entrance  was  through  the  base  of  the  steeple,  in  the 
summit  of  which  swung  the  village  bell.  The  pews 
were  square,  and  surmounted  far  above  the  heads 
of  children  by  an  open  railing.  Once  penned  for 
the  Sabbath  service,  there  was  no  escape  from  the 
enclosure ;  there  was  no  outlook  except  toward  the 
pulpit  or  the  ceiling.  The  floor  was  uncarpeted ; 


Foundation    of  the    College.  83 

the  seats  were  without  cushions.  The  Benjamin  of 
the  household  generally  carried  to  meeting  in  win- 
ter the  mother's  foot-stove,  quite  as  sacred  to  him 
as  Prayer-Book  or  Bible  are  to  some  modern  wor- 
shipers. In  summer,  he  was  sometimes  allowed  to 
carry  a  few  branches  of  fennel  from  the  garden,  for 
his  solace  as  the  sermon  went  on.  This  venerable 
meeting-house  gave  way  before  long  to  the  church, 
which,  with  ambitious  pretentions  to  Grecian  art, 
arose  not  far  away.  This  has  been  superseded  in 
its  turn.  The  College  Chapel  and  the  Second  Dor- 
mitory were  also  erected  very  soon  after  the  inaugu- 
ration of  the  new  President. 

XXI. 

r  I  ^O  give  an  idea  of  the  condition  of  the  Institu- 
-*-  tion  in  1823,  of  its  original  design  and  its  early 
struggles,  we  condense  an  account  of  its  foundation 
from  "  Historical  Sketches"  prepared  by  Dr.  Hum- 
phrey in  his  later  days,  at  the  request  of  the  Trustees 
of  the  College : 

"  There  were  several  years  of  preparatory  work, 
before  the  vision  of  an  established  college,  with  full 
powers  and  franchises,  gladdened  the  hearts  of  its 
founders.  They  felt  the  want  of  an  academy  in 
Amherst  for  the  education  of  their  own  children,  and 
of  others  who  might  wish  to  enjoy  its  privileges. 


84  Heman   Humphrey. 

Accordingly,  in  the  month  of  July,  1812,  a  subscrip- 
tion was  opened  to  erect  a  suitable  edifice  for  such  a 
school.  With  the  avails  of  this  and  other  free-will 
offerings  the  building  soon  went  up,  and  in  due  time 
was  opened  with  highly  encouraging  prospects, 
with  a  corps  of  competent  teachers.  In  the  winter 
of  1816,  an  Act  of  Incorporation  was  obtained.  The 
aim  of  the  corporators  was  high.  They  determined 
to  have  an  academy  of  the  very  first  class.  To  this 
end,  November  8,  1817,  a  project  was  presented  and 
adopted,  for  increasing  the  usefulness  of  the  Acad- 
emy, by  a  fund  for  the  gratuitous  education  of  pious 
young  men  for  the  ministry.  It  was  at  once  resolved 
to  establish  a  Professorship  for  instruction  in  the 
Languages  ;  also  to  organize  a  plan  for  raising  the 
proposed  fund. 

"The  plan,  however,  failed,  because  too  narrow 
to  reach  the  end  in  view.  A  new  one  was  adopted, 
which  involved  the  raising  of  a  Charity  Fund  of 
fifty  thousand  dollars.  While  subscriptions  to  this 
Fund  were  being  taken,  it  was  proposed  by  the 
friends, of  Williams  College  to  remove  that  institu- 
tion from  Berkshire  to  one  of  the  more  central 
counties  of  the  State.  Overtures  were  made  from 
Amherst,  looking  toward  a  union  of  the  Academy 
with  Williams  College,  at  Amherst,  or  some  other 
convenient  point.  Negotiations  followed,  but  re- 


The   First  Building.  85 

suited  in  nothing.  The  friends  of  Amherst  felt 
pressed  to  carry  out  their  original  idea  of  an  Insti- 
tution specially  for  the  education  of  indigent  young 
men  for  the  ministry.  This  they  finally  resolved 
upon  ;  still  leaving  open  the  door  for  further  negoti- 
ations with  Williams.  Williams  College  was  never 
removed ;  and  from  this  beginning  Amherst  Col- 
lege grew  into  being.  Its  aim  was  from  the  first, 
benevolent  and  evangelical  in  a  high  degree. 
The  corner-stone  of  its  first  building  was  laid, 
August  9,  1820." 

The  erection  of  this  building  is  thus  described  by 
Dr.  Humphrey : 

"  The  committee  proceeded  to  execute  the  trust 
committed  to  them,  secured  a  title  to  the  land, 
marked  out  the  ground  for  the  site  of  a  building  one 
hundred  feet  in  length,  and  invited  the  inhabitants 
of  Amherst,  friendly  to  the  design,  to  contribute 
labor  and  materials,  with  provisions  for  the  work- 
men. With  this  request,  the  inhabitants  of  Amherst 
and  a  few  from  Pelham  and  Leverett  most  cheer- 
fully complied.  The  stone  for  the  foundations  was 
brought  chiefly  from  Pelham  by  gratuitous  labor, 
and  provisions  for  the  workmen  were  furnished  by 
voluntary  contributions.  The  work  went  on  so 
rapidly,  that  on  the  nineteenth  day  from  the  laying 
of  the  corner-stone  the  roof  was  on."  The  building 

8 


86  Heman    Humphrey. 

was  four  stories  in  height,  and  was  commenced  with 
scarcely  a  dollar  in  the  treasury. 

The  number  of  students  when  President  Hum- 
phrey was  inaugurated  was  one  hundred  and 
twenty-six.  The  following  schedule,  taken  from 
the  cover  of  his  inaugural  address,  is,  in  many 
respects,  instructive  and  interesting  : 

AMHERST    COLLEGIATE    INSTITUTION. 
FACULTY. 

REV.  HEMAN  HUMPHREY,  D.  D.,  S.  T.  P.,  President. 

REV.    GAMALIEL    S.    OLDS,    Professor  of   Mathematics   and 

Natural  Philosophy, 
JOSEPH    ESTABROOK,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Latin   and  Greek 

Languages. 
REV.  JONAS    KING,  A.  M.,  Professor  of  Oriental  Literature 

(to  be  absent  for  two  years). 
ZEN  AS  CLAPP,  A.  B.,   Tutor  and  Librarian. 
SAMUEL  M.  WORCESTER,  A.  B.,  Tutor. 

STUDENTS   IN  THE   INSTITUTION, 

OCTOBER,     1823. 

SENIOR   CLASS 19 

JUNIOR  CLASS 29 

SOPHOMORE  CLASS 41 

FRESHMAN    CLASS 37 

Total 126 

Hopefully  pious  Students,  98 


His    College   Duties.  87 

From  Massachusetts,  79,  Connecticut,  21,  New  Hampshire, 
10,  Vermont,  4,  New  York,  j,  New  Jersey,  I,  Pennsylvania,  I, 
South  Carolina,  I,  Kentucky,  \,  Mississippi,  I. 

That  President  Humphrey  was  introduced  into  no 
sinecure  is  made  clear  by  a  simple  rehearsal  of  the 
duties  assigned  to  him.  He  instructed  the  Senior 
Class  in  Rhetoric,  Logic,  Natural  Theology,  The 
Evidences  of  Christianity,  Intellectual  and  Moral 
Philosophy,  and  Political  Economy.  He  also  pre- 
sided at  the  weekly  declamations  in  the  chapel,  and 
criticised  the  compositions  of  one  or  two  of  the 
classes.  He  preached  on  the  Sabbath,  occasionally, 
in  the  village  meeting-house,  where,  until  the  col- 
lege chapel  was  finished,  the  students  worshiped. 
After  the  chapel  was  completed,  in  1827,  he  sup- 
plied its  pulpit  regularly  for  two  or  three  years, 
being  relieved,  however,  in  his  educational  duties, 
by  the  appointment  of  a  Professor  of  Rhetoric.  He 
was  installed  pastor  of  the  College  church  on  its 
formation,  March  7,  1826.  One  paragraph  we 
give  from  the  close  of  his  address  upon  this  oc- 
casion : 

"You  will  permit  me  to  congratulate  the  friends 
of  the  Redeemer  and  of  the  College  upon  the  trans- 
actions of  this  solemn  and  interesting  occasion.  The 
Institution  is  now  at  length  fully  organized.  A 
church  is  established,  which,  we  trust,  will  never  be 


88  Hcman   Humphrey. 

moved,  on  whose  ample  records  the  names  of  unborn 
thousands  will  be  enrolled,  in  answer  to  whose 
prayers  tens  of  thousands  will  be  brought  into  the 
kingdom  of  Christ,  and  by  the  instrumentality  of 
whose  sons  the  Gospel  will  be  carried  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth." 

The  anticipations  of  that  day  have  already  been 
in  great  measure  fulfilled. 

After  two  or  three  years  the  pastoral  labors  of 
President  Humphrey  were  somewhat  lightened  by 
the  assistance  of  the  Professors,  all  except  one  of 
whom  were  clergymen ;  and  who,  each  in  turn, 
alternated  with  him  in  the  supply  of  the  pulpit,  and 
in  the  delivery  of  the  regular  Thursday  evening 
lecture.  He  was  also  gradually  relieved  of  a  part 
of  the  burdens  of  instruction.  But  his  labors  as  a 
President,  seeking  to  procure  a  charter  and  a  suit- 
able endowment  for  the  College,  were  multiplied. 
Even  his  vacations  were  almost  wholly  spent  in  this 
slow  and  vexatious  work. 


XXII. 

WE  have  already  seen  how  the  earlier  applica- 
tions to  the  Legislature  for  a  charter  were 
defeated.     A  few  leaves  from  an  address  delivered 
by  Dr.  Humphrey  to  the  Alumni  of  the  College, 


Efforts  for  a    Charter.  89 

August,  1853,  will  reveal  a  part  of  the  toil  and  the 
triumph  of  his  labors  : 

"The  prospect  of  our  ever  succeeding  was  any- 
thing but  encouraging.  The  powerful  friends  of 
both  Harvard  and  Williams  thought  that  a  third 
college  was  not  wanted ;  besides,  there  were  local 
jealousies  and  competitions  which  seemed  insuper- 
able. The  great  majority  of  the  representatives 
from  our  own  county  were  arrayed  in  opposition, 
and  used  all  their  eloquence  to  prevent  the  incorpo- 
ration. Even  half  the  town  of  Amherst  was  opposed 
to  the  location  and  voted  against  us.  Still,  the 
petitioners  determined  to  persevere.  They  put  the 
Institute,  with  its  four  classes  and  regular  course  of 
college  studies,  under  the  wing  of  the  charter  of 
Amherst  Academy.  At  the  next  winter  session  of 
the  General  Court,  the  application  was  renewed,  and 
prevailed  in  the  Senate,  but  was  defeated  by  a  large 
majority  in  the  House.  Hope  deferred  made  the 
hearts  of  many  of  the  students  sick.  We  could 
give  them  no  diplomas,  however  worthy  they  might 
be  of  the  highest  college  honors.  In  looking  back 
upon  those  dark  days,  I  wonder  they  did  not  leave 
us  in  a  body  and  go  elsewhere.  Nothing  but  a 
providential  esprit  de  corps  could  have  kept  the 
classes  unbroken. 

"At  that  time  our  Legislature  held  two  sessions  in 

8* 


90  Heman   Humphrey. 

a  year.  In  the  spring  of  1824  the  petitioners  were 
again  promptly  on  the  ground.  At  their  request  I 
appeared  before  a  joint  committee  of  the  two  Houses, 
and  in  a  speech  of  some  two  hours  argued  the 
cause  as  well  as  I  was  able.  In  the  debate  which  fol- 
lowed, it  was  manifest  that  our  petition  was  gaining 
friends,  and  those  who  opposed  it  seemed  afraid  to 
come  to  a  direct  vote.  To  stave  oft'  the  question 
and  ultimately  defeat  us,  they  had  a  commission  ap- 
pointed, with  ample  powers  to  come  to  Amherst, 
call  the  petitioners  before  them,  look  into  the  state 
of  the  funds,  inquire  by  what  means  they  had  been 
obtained,  and  report  at  the  next  winter  session.  The 
committee  was  constituted  of  five  members  of  the 
lower  House,  none  of  whom  harmonized  with  us  in 
our  religious  faith  ;  and  not  one  of  whom,  I  believe, 
was  known  to  be  in  favor  of  giving  us  a  charter.  It 
was  confidently  predicted  by  many,  that  this  search- 
warrant  would  settle  the  question  against  us,  by 
showing  that  the  pecuniary  basis  on  which  we  relied 
was  fictitious. 

"  Our  next  business,  therefore,  was,  to  prepare  for 
the  investigation.  We  never  claimed  to  have  any 
endowment,  except  a  subscription  of  $50,000,  as  a 
permanent  fund,  to  help  educate  indigent  pious 
young  men  for  the  ministry  ;  and  although  this  was 
a  bona  fide  subscription,  a  large  part  of  which  had 


Efforts  for  a    Charter.  91 

been  paid,  it  was  not  in  the  best  condition  to  abide 
the  searching  inquisition  of  the  legislative  commit- 
tee. As  none  of  the  subscribers  were  holden  unless 
the  sum  was  made  up  to  $50,000,  several  indi- 
viduals were  obliged,  after  all  the  papers  were  re- 
turned, to  guarantee  the  deficiency,  which  amounted 
to  about  $15,000.  This  guarantee  they  made  in 
good  faith  ;  but  as  they  had  already  subscribed  very 
liberally,  it  was  understood  that  they  must  be  re- 
lieved as  soon  as  other  subscriptions  could  be  ob- 
tained. Besides  this,  it  was  known  that  some  of  the 
subscribers  to  the  fund  refused  to  pay,  alleging  that 
they  were  deceived  by  the  agents  who  circulated  the 
papers.  It  was  deemed  essential  by  the  trustees 
that  the  $15,000  should  be  lifted  from  the  shoulders 
of  the  warrantors  before  the  committee  came  upon 
the  ground,  and  this  was  no  easy  task.  The  ques- 
tion was,  where,  after  having  turned  every  stone, 
the  trustees  should  look  for  so  much  money,  and  in 
so  short  a  time.  At  their  request  I  went  to  Boston, 
laid  the  case  before  a  select  meeting  of  our  friends, 
and  in  a  few  days  obtained  about  half  the  sum  which 
was  wanted.  The  rest  was  made  up  by  the  trustees, 
faculty  and  other  friends  in  Amherst  and  vicinity. 
The  investigating  committee  notified  us  of  the  time 
when  we  might  expect  them.  As  the  day  drew 
near,  a  gentleman  called  upon  our  treasurer,  with 


92  Heman   Humphrey. 

an  order  from  the  chairman  of  the  investigating 
committee,  to  submit  our  subscription  list  to  his  in- 
spection. The  demand  was  referred  by  the  treas- 
urer to  our  prudential  committee.  Upon  consulta- 
tion they  could  not  precisely  see  by  what  right  or 
authority  our  papers  were  thus  prematurely  de- 
manded. They  accordingly  directed  me  to  return 
this  answer : 

"  '  We  cannot  comply  with  this  demand,  for  these 
among  other  important  reasons  :  First.  We  do  not 
understand  how  any  one  has  a  right  to  send  for  our 
papers,  or  in  any  way  to  interfere  in  the  proposed 
investigation,  whatever  interest  he  may  profess  to 
represent. 

"  '  Secondly.  By  adverting  to  the  resolution  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  June  10,  1824,  appoint- 
ing the  investigating  committee,  we  find  that  said 
committee  is  empowered  to  meet  at  such  time  and 
place  as  they  may  think  proper,  previously  to  the 
next  session  of  the  General  Court,  and  to  send  for 
persons  and  papers.  But  we  do  not  find  that  the 
committee  is  empowered  by  the  aforesaid  resolve, 
to  call  for  our  papers  previously  to  their  meeting,  or 
indeed  at  any  other  time,  for  the  purpose  of  putting 
them  into  the  hands  of  any  other  persons. 

"'Thirdly.  If  the  committee  had  been  so  em- 
powered, we  believe  they  have  never  acted  on  the 


Efforts  for   a    Charter.  93 

subject,  and,  of  course,  that  the  present  call  for  our 
papers  does  not  come  from  them. 

"  '  Fourthly.  The  chairman  of  said  committee  has 
given  public  notice  in  the  newspapers  that  they  will 
meet  in  Amherst,  on  the  fourth  day  of  October,  at 
which  time  and  place  all  persons  interested  in  the 
investigation  may  be  heard.  Of  course,  the  Trus- 
tees of  the  Collegiate  Institution  are  allowed  all  the 
time  till  then  to  arrange  their  papers  and  prepare 
for  the  investigation ;  and  they  will  doubtless  en- 
deavor to  have  everything  ready  to  be  laid  before 
the  committee.' 

"  This  satisfied  ourselves,  at  least,  and  we  heard 
no  more  of  the  order ;  the  agent  was  left  to  execute 
his  commission  as  best  he  could,  without  our  help. 

'•  When  the  day  of  trial  came,  a  lawyer  employed 
for  the  purpose  was  promptly  on  the  ground  to 
cross-question  us  in  the  investigation,  and  as  a 
volunteer  to  assist  the  Legislative  Commission  in 
searching  the  matter  to  the  bottom.  All  our  papers 
were  promptly  put  into  the  hands  of  the  committee, 
and  the  investigation  lasted  a  fortnight.  Our  prin- 
cipal agent  in  obtaining  the  subscriptions  was  pres- 
ent, and  closely  questioned.  A  lawyer  who  had 
been  employed  to  look  up  testimony  to  condemn  us, 
was  also  there,  with  the  affidavits  which  he  had  in- 
dustriously collected ;  and  at  his  request,  a  large 


94  Heman   Humphrey. 

number  of  subpoenas  were  sent  out  to  bring  in  dis- 
satisfied subscribers. 

"No  similar  investigation,  I  believe,  was  ever 
more  thoroughly  conducted  ;  and  some  incidents  in 
the  progress  of  it  were  quite  amusing  to  the  spec- 
tators. Among  the  papers  examined  were  notes  to 
a  considerable  amount,  which  were  protested  by  the 
counsel  against  us  on  the  score  of  irresponsibility. 
The  first  was  a  note  of  a  hundred  dollars,  and  as 
soon  as  it  was  objected  to,  S.  V.  S.  Wilder,  Esq., 
one  of  our  Trustees,  advanced  to  the  table  and  said, 
*  Mr.  Chairman,  I  will  cash  that  note,'  and  laid 
down  the  money.  Another  was  produced  as  doubt- 
ful. '  I  will  cash  that,  too  !'  said  he,  and  laid  down 
the  bills.  And  so  of  a  third ;  and  if  I  remember 
rightly,  a  fourth,  till  the  chairman  interposed  and 
said,  with  some  warmth,  'We  did  not  come  here  to 
collect  money  for  you.'  Whereupon  Mr.  Wilder, 
bowing  gracefully  to  the  chair,  put  up  his  pocket- 
book. 

"  I  have  said  that  there  were  a  good  many  small 
subscriptions  to  the  fund,  by  minors,  and  other  per- 
sons. These,  of  course,  went  into  the  hands  of  the 
committee  with  the  rest,  to  make  up  the  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars.  On  these,  it  was  obvious  at  a  glance, 
there  might.be  very  considerable  loss.  This  advan- 
tage against  us  could  not  escape  gentlemen  so  astute 


Efforts  for  a    Charter.  95 

as  our  learned  opponents.  It  was  reported,  and  I 
believe  it  was  true,  that  they  sat  up  nearly  all 
night,  drawing  off  names  and  figuring,  so  as  to  be 
ready  in  the  morning.  Getting  an  inkling  of  what 
they  were  about,  two  of  our  Trustees  drew  up  an 
obligation,  assuming  the  whole  amount,  whatever  it 
might  be,  and  had  it  ready  to-  meet  the  expected 
report.  No  sooner  was  the  session  opened  than  the 
report  was  laid  upon  the  table,  with  an  air  of  satis- 
faction which  seemed  to  say,  *  Here,  gentlemen 
petitioners,  is  a  poser  for  you.'  I  leave  you  to  im- 
agine what  a  change  of  countenances  there  was 
when  the  guarantee  was  instantly  produced  and 
read. 

"The  appointment  of  this  commission  proved  a 
real  windfall  to  the  institution.  It  gave  the  Trustees 
opportunity  publicly  to  vindicate  themselves  against 
the  aspersions  which  had  been  industriously  cast 
upon  them,  and  constrained  them  to  place  the 
Charity  Fund  on  a  sure  foundation. 

"  The  investigation,  to  be  sure,  cost  us  some  time 
and  trouble ;  but  it  was  worth  more  to  us  than  a  new 
subscription  of  ten  thousand  dollars.  I  really  do 
not  see  how  the  sum  could  have  been  made  up,  in 
cash,  as  it  was  on  paper,  without  it.  There  were 
those,  and  some  men  of  renown,  who  '  meant  not 
so,  neither  did  their  heart  think  so.' 


96  H cman    Humphrey. 

"  Soon  after  the  opening  of  the  next  winter  ses- 
sion we  went  to  Boston  to  hear  the  report  of  the 
committee.  When  we  arrived,  what  was  our  sur- 
prise, to  find  that  a  large  number  of  printed  affidavits 
had  been  smuggled  into  the  House  and  laid  upon 
the  seats  of  the  members,  setting  forth  various 
reasons  for  declining  to  pay  their  subscriptions. 
The  committee,  nevertheless,  reported  in  favor  of 
giving  us  a  charter ;  and  then  came  on  the  final 
struggle.  The  debate  was  long  and  earnest ;  and 
when  the  vote  was  called  for,  the  result  seemed  very 
doubtful.  But  it  prevailed.  The  charter  was 
granted,  with  the  names  of  a  good  Board  of  Trus- 
tees to  carry  into  effect  its  provisions.  Great  rejoi- 
cings and  an  illumination  quickly  followed,  and  the 
college  was  duly  organized  by  the  choice  of  a 
Faculty. 

"The  charter  was  a  God-send  to  the  institution.  It 
brought  us  into  the  honorable  sisterhood  of  New 
England  colleges,  and  though  the  youngest  of  the 
family,  not  the  least.  The  number  of  undergradu- 
ates rapidly  increased,  till  in  less  than  ten  years,  it 
rose  to  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty ;  and  for 
several  successive  years  stood  next  in  number  to 
Yale  College. 

"  But  fair  and  promising  as  the  young  sister  was, 
she  could  get  nothing  to  begin  with  from  the  parent 


Solicitation    of  Funds.  97 

who  had  bestowed  '  never  so  much  dowry'  upon  the 
elder. 

"Though  the  charter  gave  the  institution  a  legal 
existence,  it  was  nothing  more  than  a  roll  of  parch- 
ment. It  brought  us  no  money,  and  everything 
was  yet  to  be  done.  We  had  no  chapel,  no  recita- 
tion and  lecture-rooms,  no  library,  and  nothing  de- 
serving the  name  of  an  apparatus  in  any  depart- 
ment. In  these  respects  it  was  truly  a  day  of  small 
things." 

The  labor  of  procuring  funds  was  greater  than 
that  of  obtaining  a  charter.  It  was  especially  an 
irksome  work,  and  one  for  which  Dr.  Humphrey 
thought  himself  poorly  fitted. 

One  of  the  family  traditions,  however,  shows  that 
he  had  some  of  the  requisites  of  a  solicitor.  On  one 
of  his  journeys  to  Boston  in  the  stage-coach  of  the 
day,  the  vehicle  stopped  at  a  village  to  take  up  a 
lady.  The  rain  was  falling — the  coach  was  filled. 
The  driver,  opening  the  door,  asked  if  any  pas- 
senger would  resign  his  seat  for  one  on  "the  deck," 
in  favor  of  the  lady.  No  one  moved  for  a  moment. 
The  next  instant  Dr.  Humphrey  was  on  the  ground, 
and  the  lady  in  his  place.  Some  time  afterward, 
when  this  village  was  canvassed  for  subscriptions  to 
the  College,  the  husband  of  the  lady  was  called 
upon.  He  looked  at  the  subscription-list,  subscribed 
9  G 


98  Hcman   Humphrey. 

a  handsome  sum,  and  returned  it,  saying,  "  I  do  not 
know  much  about  Amherst  College,  but  I  know  its 
President  is  a  gentleman." 

The  incessant  toil  which  marked  these  years  told 
severely  upon  even  his  robust  constitution.  His 
health  was  nearly  broken,  when,  in  the  winter  of 
1834,  sorne  friends  of  the  College  proposed  to  defray 
the  expenses  of  a  few  months'  travel  in  Europe,  for 
the  restoration  of  his  flagging  energies.  This  jour- 
ney was  undertaken  in  the  following  spring,  and 
was  of  inestimable  service.  A  series  of  letters, 
written  during  that  journey,  and  printed  in  the  New 
York  Observer,  obtained  a  wide  circulation.  The 
paths  of  European  travel  had  not  then  been  beaten 
hard  by  American  tourists. 

After  his  return,  his  official  duties  were  less  bur- 
densome than  they  had  been.  The  College  was 
favored  with  a  full  corps  of  eminent  professors.  He 
was,  however,  continually  employed  in  some  useful 
College  labor.  He  was  a  most  systematic  student, 
and  devoted  many  of  his  leisure  moments  to  literary 
composition.  He  was  a  regular  contributor  to  the 
religious  journals  of  the  day.  He  identified  himself 
with  all  popular  movements  for  true  reform.  His 
advocacy  of  temperance  was  constant  and  effectual. 
His  public  addresses  in  the  pulpit  and  on  the  plat- 
form were  frequent.  His  voice  became  familiar  at 


Personal  Relations    to    Students.  99 

all  the  great  centres  of  benevolent  effort.  He  was 
an  earnest  friend  of  the  Colonization  movement,  so 
long  as  that  promised  most  for  the  relief  of  the  slave. 
The  soundness  of  his  judgment  became  as  widely 
known  as  the  mingled  wisdom  and  eloquence  of  his 
lips.  He  was  consulted  in  ecclesiastical  matters  far 
and  near. 

By  the  students  in  the  College  he  was  singularly 
revered.  There  are  many  now  living,  by  whom 
President  Humphrey  is  recollected  as  the  embodi- 
ment of  all  that  is  wise  and  good.  He  obtained  a 
powerful  influence  over  the  students  by  his  personal 
interest  in  them ;  by  his  familiar  lectures  in  the 
class-room  to  Freshmen  on  college-life — to  school- 
teachers on  life  in  the  school-room  ;  and  by  his  fre- 
quent fatherly  counsels  to  all.  His  patience  was 
occasionally  tried  by  college  pranks,  but  his  wisdom 
and  his  good-humor  never  failed  to  serve  him.  The 
twinkle,  or  rather  gleam,  in  his  eye  often  showed 
that  he  appreciated  the  fun  he  was  bound  to  rebuke. 

One  incident  of  the  early  days  of  the  College  is 
so  characteristic  and  so  well  known  that  we  give  it 
in  Dr.  Humphrey's  words  : 

"  Two  rooms  in  the  old  College  had  been  thrown 
together  for  a  temporary  chapel,  with  a  small,  rough 
desk  at  one  end,  in  which,  I  suppose,  it  was  thought 
a  good  joke  early  to  try  one's  metal,  and  see  whether 


ioo  Hem  tin   Humphrey. 

it  would  ring  or  not.  Accordingly  one  morning,  as 
I  came  in  to  prayers,  I  found  the  chair  preoccupied 
by  a  goose.  She  looked  rather  shabby  to  be  sure, 
but  nevertheless  was  a  veritable  goose.  Strange  as 
it  may  seem,  she  did  not  salute  me  with  so  much  as 
a  hiss  for  my  unceremonious  intrusion.  It  might  be 
because  I  did  not  offer  to  take  the  chair.  As  any- 
body might  venture  to  stand  a  few  moments,  even  in 
such  a  presence,  I  carefully  drew  the  chair  up  be- 
hind me  as  closely  as  I  safely  could,  went  through 
the  exercises,  and  the  students  retired  in  the  usual 
orderly  manner;  not  more  than  two  or  three,  I  be- 
lieve, having  noticed  anything  uncommon.  In  the 
course  of  the  day  it  was  reported  that  as  soon  as 
they  found  out  what  had  happened  they  were  highly 
excited,  and  proposed  calling  a  college  meeting  to 
express  their  indignation  that  such  an  insult  had 
been  offered  by  one  of  their  number.  The  hour  of 
evening  prayers  came,  and  at  the  close  of  the  usual 
exercises,  I  asked  the  young  gentlemen  to  be  seated 
a  moment ;  stated  what  I  had  heard,  and  thanked 
them  for  the  kind  interest  they  had  taken  in  the 
matter ;  told  them  it  was  just  what  I  should  expect 
from  gentlemen  of  such  high,  honorable  feelings ; 
but  begged  them  not  to  give  themselves  the  least 
trouble  in  the  premises.  '  You  know,'  I  said,  '  that 
the  Trustees  have  just  been  here  to  organize  a  Col- 


Presidential    Toils.  101 

lege  Faculty.  Their  intention  was  to  provide  com- 
petent instructors  in  all  the  departments,  so  as  to 
meet  the  capacity  of  every  student.  They  thought 
they  had  done  so.  But  it  seems  that  one  student 
was  overlooked,  and  I  am  sure  they  will  be  glad  to 
learn  that  he  has  promptly  supplied  the  deficiency 
by  choosing  a  goose  for  his  tutor.  Par  nobile 
fratrum'" 

XXIV. 

"  I  "*HE  foregoing  pages  afford  but  a  faint  conception 
-*-  of  the  early  labors  devolved  upon  the  President 
of  Amherst  College.  The  anxieties  which  attended 
the  obtaining  of  a  charter  can  never  be  appreciated 
by  those  who  simply  read  the  history  of  the  institu- 
tion. No  pen  could  ever  record  the  long  confer- 
ences, the  perplexed  thoughts,  the  fearful  appre- 
hensions, the  wearying  vexations  which  excited  the 
brain  and  wore  on  the  nerves  of  one  whose  whole 
heart  was  given  to  this  enterprise.  Nor  can  any 
mere  reader  understand  how  much  was  involved  in 
the  earlier  efforts  made  by  President  Humphrey  to 
procure  funds  for  the  College  when  it  had  received 
its  charter.  Week  after  week  was  taken  from  the 
time  appropriated  to  collegiate  duty  for  this  pur- 
pose. Vacation  after  vacation  was  consumed  in  this 
work,  which  was,  in  some  respects,  more  wearying 
9  * 


IO2  Heman   Humphrey, 

than  that  of  appeal  to  a  Legislature.  To  plead  for 
rights  is  one  thing ;  to  ask  for  charities  is  another. 
It  is  true,  that  such  charities  as  these  are,  in  one 
sense,  rights.  All  men  are  God's  stewards,  and  a 
just  plea  for  benevolence  is  a  plea  for  the  rights  of 
the  Master.  But  he  who  stands  firmest  in  this  con- 
viction is  unable  to  forget,  as  he  urges  his  claim,  that 
all  solicitors  for  benevolent  objects  are  regarded  as 
in  some  degree  like  all  askers  of  alms.  Compara- 
tively few  of  those  who  give  for  benevolence  give  as 
if  the  act  were  a  privilege.  The  freest  givers  are 
so  continually  plied  with  arguments  from  every  side 
that  it  is  necessary  to  convince  them  by  cogent  rea- 
sonings that  they  may,  conscientiously,  devote  to 
one  object  what  is  claimed  for  another.  Besides,  it 
is  well  understood  that  the  earlier  endowments  of  a 
collegiate  institution  are,  almost  always,  obtained 
with  far  more  difficulty  than  the  later  ones.  Here, 
as  elsewhere,  the  law  prevails,  "  Whosoever  hath 
to  him  shall  be  given ;"  and  there  is  continual  fear 
that  "Whosoever  hath  not,  from  him  shall  be  taken 
even  that  which  he  seemeth  to  have."  "  How  do  I 
know  that  my  hundreds,  given  to  an  enterprise 
which  is  yet  so  feeble  as  to  be  of  doubtful  life,  may 
not  be  cast  into  the  sea?"  is  a  natural  question. 
"  My  thousands  given  to  an  enterprise  which  has 
already  the  elements  of  an  enduring  life,  will  be 


Visions   of  the   future.  103 

like  new  stones  in  a  temple  which  will  stand  for 
centuries,"  is  a  natural  argument. 

Had  President  Humphrey  no  further  honor  than 
this,  that  he  secured  the  launching  and  the  dress  of 
his  ship,  and  piloted  it  out  of  a  crooked  harbor  into 
the  open  sea,  that  were  enough  for  one  who  beholds 
Amherst  College  as  it  now  is.  But  his  honor  is 
greater  than  this.  He,  more  than  any  one  else,  was 
instrumental  in  giving  the  College  its  character. 
Under  his  administration  the  purpose  of  its  founders 
was  realized.  They  desired  it  to  be  a  training- 
school  for  the  Church,  a  seminary  for  the  education 
especially  of  ministers  and  missionaries  of  the  Cross. 
That  this  desire  might  be  realized  was  the  cogent 
motive  which  drew  him  from  the  pastorate  in  Pitts- 
field.  A  single  paragraph,  already  quoted  from  his 
address  at  the  foundation  of  the  College  church, 
shows  how  earnest  was  his  sympathy  in  this  desire. 
We  give  another  paragraph,  taken  from  the  close 
of  his  inaugural  address,  as  pervaded  by  the  same 
feeling : 

"As  we  cast  our  eyes  down  the  long  track  of  time, 
from  this  consecrated  eminence,  how  many  bright 
and  interesting  visions  crowd  upon  our  view  !  We, 
indeed,  shall  soon  be  gone ;  but  other  generations 
will  come,  and  what  may  they  not  enjoy  and  accom- 
plish, canopied  as  they  will  be  by  these  Arcadian 


104  Heman   Humphrey. 

skies,  invigorated  by  the  pure  breath  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  inspired  to  rapture  and  to  song  as  they 
look  abroad  upon  all  the  riches,  life  and  beauty  of 
this  great  amphitheatre?  How  many  favored  sons 
of  this  institution  will  hold  sweet  converse  here  with 
the  muse  that  loves  the  hill  of  Zion  !  How  many 
statesmen,  historians  and  orators  will  be  trained  on 
this  ground  to  shine  in  senates,  to  grace  the  bar,  to 
adorn  the  bench  of  justice,  and  to  record  the  doings 
of  the  wise,  the  brave  and  the  good  !  But  more 
than  all  that  has  been  mentioned,  what  may  not  this 
seminary  do  for  the  churches  at  home  ;  what  victo- 
ries may  she  not  gain  in  distant  lands,  by  sending 
forth  her  sons  under  the  banner  of  the  Cross,  and 
clad  in  armor  of  heavenly  temper  to  fight  the  battles 
of  her  King? 

"  Who  is  there  in  this  assembly  that  is  not  ready 
to  answer,  May  these  glowing  anticipations  be  more 
than  realized  in  the  future  prosperity  and  usefulness 
of  this  institution  ?  May  it  live  to  gladden  and 
bless  the  Church  through  all  future  generations,  and 
in  that  world  where  holiness  is  perfect  and  know- 
ledge is  transcendent,  may  all  its  founders,  patrons 
and  friends  meet  and  dwell  together  for  ever  in  the 
presence  of  God  and  the  Lamb." 

Let  any  one  who  is  curious  to  see  what  order  of 
students  has  come  from  this  institution,  study  its 


College   Revivals.  105 

last  Triennial,  see  what  distinguished  names  are  on 
its  roll,  and  how  many  of  those  names  are  printed 
in  the  honored  italics  which  designate  ministers  of 
the  Gospel. 

President  Humphrey  was  successful  in  impressing 
all  students  by  the  force  of  his  own  character.  One 
of  the  most  widely-known  preachers  in  America  has 
more  than  once  borne  public  testimony  that,  while 
in  Amherst  College,  he  was  more  influenced  by  the 
President  as  a  man  than  even  as  an  instructor.  His 
personal  character  was  like  an  atmosphere  or  a  sun- 
shine. What  he  was,  the  College,  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, became. 

That  he  was  continually  solicitous  for  the  religious 
interests  of  the  institution,  is  evidenced  by  his  activ- 
ity in  promoting  the  frequent  revivals  which  occurred 
under  his  administration.  In  his  address  to  the 
Alumni  in  1853,  he  said  : 

"There  is  nothing  which  I  look  back  upon  during 
my  connection  with  the  College,  with  so  much  satis- 
faction and  so  many  thanksgivings  to  God,  as  *  the 
times  of  refreshing  from  his  presence'  which  we  en- 
joyed. I  have  ever  regarded  them  as  so  many 
testimonies  of  the  Divine  approbation  of  the  motives 
of  its  founders.  They  meant  to  make  it  a  College 
for  Christ  and  the  Church ;  and  that  it  might  remain 
so,  was,  I  have  no  doubt,  the  burden  of  their  pray- 


106  lie-man   Hum-phrey. 

ers.  By  this  hope  they  were  cheered  in  the  darkest 
times,  and  in  every  revival  they  greatly  rejoiced. 
Of  how  many  will  it  be  said,  when  Christ  makes 
up  his  jewels,  This  and  that  pastor  or  missionary 
was  born  there !  It  seems  to  me  the  richest  smile 
of  Heaven  upon  Amherst  College,  that  no  class  has 
ever  graduated  without  having  passed  at  least  once 
under  the  cloud  which  has  so  often  '  poured  out 
righteousness'  upon  it.  If,  in  its  former  straits, 
every  drop  had  been  fine  gold,  how  meagre  the 
blessing  compared  with  the  effusions  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  by  which  the  Church  has  been  refreshed,  and 
in  which  so  many  sinners  have  been  converted  to 
God  !  I  shall  never  forget  the  charge  I  received 
when  I  was  installed  pastor  of  the  church.  '  Con- 
tend earnestly  for  the  Faith  once  delivered  to  the 
saints,'  said  the  venerable  father  upon  whom  that 
duty  devolved.  '  We  would  rather  come  here  to 
bury  you  than  that  you  should  depart  from  the  true 
faith.'  So  I  now  say :  Let  this  College  be  swept 
from  under  these  glorious  heavens  sooner  than  any 
other  Gospel  shall  be  preached  within  these  walls 
than  that  which  has  been  made  '  the  wisdom  of  God 
and  the  power  of  God'  to  the  salvation  of  so  many 
souls !" 

It  had  long  been  his  declared  intention  to  retire 
from  some  of  his  more  responsible  trusts  when  his 


Return    to   Pittsfield.  107 

threescore  years  should  be  rounded.  "At  sixty," 
he  would  say,  "a  man  may  still  be  vigorous;  in 
some  respects  he  may  be  more  efficient  than  ever ; 
but  he  cannot  be  so  sure  of  his  mental  operations 
as  in  middle  life."  He  was  already  sixty-five  when 
he  felt  constrained  to  resign  the  office  he  had  held 
for  twenty-two  years.  The  College  had  long  been 
a  recognized  power  in  the  land.  He  felt  that  it 
could  be  safely  committed  to  a  new  leadership. 

In  April,  1845,  he  tendered  his  resignation,  and 
made  his  arrangements  to  retire  from  collegiate  life. 
He  has  been  followed  by  able  and  distinguished 
men ;  the  first  of  his  successors,  Pres.  Edward 
Hitchcock,  being  then  already  known  as  among  the 
foremost  savants  of  the  scientific  world. 

He  did  not,  however,  retire  into  an  idle  repose. 
His  residence  was  fixed  for  the  most  of  the  ensuing 
year  with  Rev.  Henry  Neill,  at  Hatfield,  Massa- 
chusetts, but  his  time  was  largely  occupied  by  re- 
vival labors  and  by  the  supply  of  vacant  congrega- 
tions in  the  neighborhood. 

XXV. 

Where  now  should  be  the  home  of  his  old  age  ? 
His  former  parishioners  in  Pittsfield  plead  for  his 
return  to  them — not  now  as  pastor,  but  as  friend. 


io8  If  email   Humphrey. 

He  yields,  and  to  this  place  of  fond  memories  re- 
turns for  the  evening  of  life.  A  new  house  near  his 
former  residence  was  procured,  and  he  was  soon  at 
home  again  among  those  who  welcomed  him  with 
all  their  old  affection.  For  a  few  years  the  numer- 
ous demands  made  upon  him  by  the  churches 
drew  him  frequently  from  his  family.  He  supplied 
vacant  pulpits,  assisted  his  brethren  in  extraordinary 
labors,  traveled  through  Western  Massachusetts  to 
rouse  new  interest  in  the  cause  of  Missions,  and  de- 
livered several  lectures  in  behalf  of  the  American 
Colonization  Society,  principally  in  New  York  and 
Boston.  His  face  was  as  familiar  as  ever  on  anni- 
versary platforms.  And  while  at  home  his  pen  was 
more  nimble  than  ever.  He  visited  his  children  at 
Louisville,  and  at  Milwaukee,  as  well  as  at  Lenox, 
Binghamton  and  New  York.  He  made  summer 
tours  for  health  and  pleasure.  He  revisited  his  old 
haunts  and  homes  in  Connecticut.  Scarcely  any 
young  man  was  more  active  than  he.  Gradually, 
however,  he  fell  into  a  more  reposeful  life,  still  re- 
taining his  interest  in  all  the  movements  of  society, 
and  resuming  the  regular  habits  which  had  cha- 
racterized his  yonnger  days.  In  the  early  summer 
morning  we  used  to  hear  the  click  of  his  hoe  in  the 
garden.  In  the  evening  we  were  his  companions 
as  he  took  his  regular  walk.  In  winter  mornings 


His   Daily   Habits.  109 

he  substituted  the  study  of  the  Scriptures  for  the 
early  physical  exercise.  After  breakfast  and  family 
devotion  the  study  was  his  resort.  There,  from 
nine  o'clock  until  the  bell  struck  for  dinner,  he 
spent  the  hours  in  writing ;  sometimes  a  chapter  of 
a  book,  sometimes  a  communication  from  "  The 
Old  Man  of  the  Mountains,"  sometimes  a  letter  to  a 
friend,  or  a  few  pages  of  a  sermon  or  of  autobio- 
graphical reminiscence.  The  results  of  these  con- 
tinued literary  labors  can  only  be  appreciated  by 
those  who  review  the  accumulations  of  his  unre- 
mitted  toil.  After  dinner  came  miscellaneous  read- 
ing, of  new  books,  of  current  periodicals  and  news- 
papers, "to  keep  up  with  the  times."  Then  came 
the  walk,  the  visit,  the  genial  talk  with  friend  or 
family.  After  tea  the  religious  meeting,  or  the 
friendly  call,  given  or  received.  Then  as  ten 
o'clock  approached,  the  familiar  Bible  was  pro- 
duced, the  fervent  prayer  was  offered,  and  soon 
after  was  heard  the  whirr  of  the  wheels  in  the  tall 
old  clock  in  the  hall,  as  he  wound  it  for  another 
twenty-four  hours  of  faithful  service. 

By  such  regular  habits  the  health  of  both  body 
and  mind  was  wonderfully  preserved.  He  was 
seldom  even  partially  disabled  by  illness.  His 
sleep  was  almost  never  disturbed.  Uniformly 
cheerful,  and  seeming  to  our  partial  eyes  more 
10 


no  Hcman   Humphrey. 

and  more  genial  as  the  mellow  sunset  came  on, 
he  contributed  greatly  to  the  happiness  of  all  about 
him. 

All  village  affairs  interested  him.  When  he 
returned  to  Pittsfield  from  Amherst,  he  found  that 
the  old  church  whose  severed  parts  had  been  so 
kindly  knit  again  under  his  ministry,  had  become  so 
large  that  division  was  now  as  much  a  duty  as  union 
had  been  twenty-eight  years  before.  A  colony  was 
soon  formed.  He  identified  himself  with  this  colony 
in  a  spirit  of  rare  self-sacrifice,  as  most  of  his  former 
friends  remained  in  the  First  Church.  A  new  house 
of  worship  was  provided  for  the  colony,  largely  in 
consequence  of  his  influence  and  exertions.  A 
pastor  was  installed — one  of  the  choicest  in  New 
England — Rev.  Dr.  Harris,  now  President  of  Bow- 
doin  College,  Maine.  Dr.  Humphrey  returned  to 
the  First  Church  a  few  years  afterward,  when  his 
mission  in  the  colony  appeared  to  be  accomplished. 

He  interested  himself  greatly  in  the  establishment 
of  a  Public  Library,  which  is  now  large,  and  of 
great  benefit  to  the  village.  He  promoted  also  a 
"  Tree-Planting  Association."  A  coming  generation 
will  rejoice  in  shade  which  he  was  instrumental  in 
providing.  Thus  his  influence  was  felt  in  many  a 
healthful  touch  given  to  all  the  springs  of  village  life 
and  prosperity.  To  the  last,  he  was  the  friend  and 


Marks   of  Affection.  in 

the  counselor  of  the  young.  He  prepared  a  series 
of  sermons  to  this  class  of  society,  which  he  loved 
to  deliver  wherever  he  had  opportunity.  They 
were  listened  to  by  hundreds  with  eager  attention. 
In  1859,  as  ne  rounded  his  eightieth  year,  he  pre- 
pared a  sermon  on  "  Old  Age,"  which  he  delivered 
in  the  First  Church  at  the  request  of  the  pastor, 
Rev.  J.  Todd,  D.D.,  who  always  revered  him,  and 
who  was  loved  in  return.  This  sermon,  full  of 
pleasant  reminiscences,  is  marked  by  nothing  so 
much  as  by  the  interest  it  reveals  in  those  who  are 
fresh  in  the  circuit  of  life. 

The  citizens  of  Pittsfield  maintained  the  warmth 
of  the  welcome  with  which  they  had  greeted  him  on 
his  return,  to  the  very  end.  Those  who  had  not 
known  him  as  pastor  soon  learned  to  respect  him  as 
citizen  and  love  him  as  friend.  The  children  of  his 
former  parishioners  seemed  to  have  brought  such 
memories  of  him  out  of  their  forming  years,  that 
they  regarded  him  with  a  reverence  as  nearly  saintly 
as  is  consistent  with  Puritan  character.  The  tributes 
of  respect  and  affection  he  continually  received  were 
very  precious  to  him,  and  will  always  be  remem- 
bered as  precious  by  his  children.  He  used  to  say, 
as  he  walked  about  the  village,  "All  these  lawns 
and  gardens  are  mine ;"  referring  only  to  the  pleas- 
ure he  derived  from  them,  and  the  freedom  with 


112  Heman   Humphrey. 

which  all  these  gates  were  open  to  his  foot :  "  They 
are  mine  without  the  trouble  and  expense  of  taking 
care  of  them."  Very  often,  in  his  walks,  he  would 
enter  the  highly-cultivated  grounds  of  some  neigh- 
bor, and  wander  for  a  time  among  the  glowing  beds 
or  under  the  drooping  boughs,  feeling  that  sense  of 
ownership  which  was  derived  from  the  thought  that 
God  paints  his  tints  and  distills  his  odors  for  all  his 
children ;  and  from  the  consciousness  that  were  he 
known  to  wish  it,  no  flower  or  fruit  would  be  so 
precious  as  to  be  refused  him.  Indeed,  his  parlor 
and  his  table  bore  continual  witness  that  "  all  gar- 
dens were  his."  It  was  no  formal  tribute — it  was 
but  the  natural  sequel  of  all  that  had  gone  before, 
that  when  at  last  his  dust  was  borne  to  the  grave, 
the  stores  along  the  line  of  the  procession  were 
closed,  all  the  bells  of  the  village  were  tolled,  and 
those  who  had  abandoned  all  other  duty,  went  in 
solemn  order  to  the  place  where  the  revered  form 
was  laid.  Dr.  Todd  spoke  for  many  when  he  said 
in  his  funeral  sermon,  "  It  will  be  a  rich  legacy  to 
our  children,  that  they  can  walk  through  our  beauti- 
ful cemetery  and  point  the  finger  and  say,  '  There 
sleeps  Dr.  Humphrey.' " 


Golden    Wedding.  113 

XXVI. 

of  the  brightest  points  in  Dr.  Humphrey's 
domestic  history  during  the  tranquil  evening 
of  his  life,  was  the  celebration  of  the  fiftieth  anni- 
versary of  his  marriage,  April  20,  1858.  At  this 
"  Golden  Wedding"  all  his  surviving  children, 
nearly  all  of  his  sons  and  daughters-in-law,  and 
most  of  his  grandchildren,  together  with  several  of 
our  more  distant  relatives,  were  present.  From 
widely-scattered  homes  they  came,  with  glad  hearts 
and  with  many  a  significant  tribute  of  affection. 
The  citizens  of  Pittsfield  expressed  almost  as  much 
interest  in  the  occasion  as  if  they  had  been  members 
of  the  family.  Their  substantial  gifts  are  treasured 
among  the  most  valued  heirlooms  of  the  house. 

On  the  morning  of  the  anniversary,  the  family 
were  gathered  in  the  familiar  parlors  to  receive  the 
greetings  of  the  day.  The  family  altar  was  sur- 
rounded by  a  group  whose  devotions  were  quick- 
ened by  a  thousand  happy  memories,  and  led  in 
such  outpourings  of  the  soul  as  seldom  fell  from 
even  the  venerable  lips  of  him  whom  all  the  wor- 
shipers so  much  revered  and  loved. 

An  address  which  Dr.  Humphrey  had  previously 
prepared,  was  then  read.  It  was  full  of  reminis- 
cence, and  radiant  in  all  its  passages  with  gratitude 
10*  H 


H4  Heman   Humphrey. 

and  affection.  It  was  too  personal  for  insertion  in 
these  pages.  The  written  prayer  with  which  it 
opened  may,  however,  be  inserted,  as  revealing  the 
heart  out  of  which  it  came : 

"  Almighty  and  ever  blessed  God,  wre  adore  thee 
as  our  Creator  and  Preserver.  We  are  fearfully 
and  wonderfully  made.  Thou  hast  endowed  us 
with  social  natures  as  well  as  immortal  spirits. 
Thou  settest  the  solitary  in  families,  and  in  thee  are 
all  the  pious  families  of  the  earth  blessed. 

"  O  Lord,  we  thank  thee  for  what  our  eyes  see 
and  our  hearts  feel  to-day.  We  thank  thee  for  this 
great  and  joyful  family  gathering.  What  hast  thou 
wrought  for  us  !  We  are  like  them  that  dream.  In 
great  mercy  hast  thou  spared  the  lives  of  thine  un- 
worthy servants,  the  united  head,  to  number  fifty 
years  of  our  pilgrimage  since  the  holy  rite  that 
made  us  one.  We  thank  thee  for  the  children 
whom  thou  hast  given  us.  We  miss  some  of  them. 
They  are  not  all  here.  But  we  thank  thee  that  the 
most  of  them  still  live,  and  that  thou  hast  brought 
them  home  to  us  with  their  children,  on  an  occasion 
so  uncommon  in  this  dying  world.  And  now,  Lord, 
what  wait  we  for  but  thy  presence  and  blessing? 
Thy  favor  is  life  and  thy  loving-kindness  is  better 
than  life.  May  this  sacred  hour,  with  its  kindred 
reminiscences,  be  one  of  the  most  refreshing  and 


Golden    Wedding.  115 

profitable  of  our  lives.  May  we  enjoy  the  presence 
and  approbation  of  the  same  Divine  Guest  whose 
smiles  gladdened  every  heart  at  the  marriage-feast 
in  Cana  of  Galilee.  May  the  words  of  our  mouths 
and  the  meditations  of  our  hearts  be  acceptable  in 
thy  sight,  O  Lord,  our  strength  and  our  Redeemer. 
We  thank  thee  that  our  hearts  flow  together  in  this 
great  family  gathering,  and  that  there  is  no  absent 
prodigal  to  mourn  over  in  the  midst  of  these  joyous 
greetings  of  parents  and  children  and  children's 
children.  May  our  souls  be  more  closely  knit  to- 
gether in  bonds  which  can  never  be  broken,  how- 
ever widely  asunder  our  earthly  lot  may  be  cast. 
May  we  gain  new  strength  to  meet  the  duties  and 
trials  of  life.  May  our  whole  intercourse  while  we 
are  together,  be  such  as  shall  secure  thine  approba- 
tion which  is  life,  and  thy  loving-kindness  which  is 
better  than  life.  We  all  feel  that  it  is  good  for  us  to 
be  here.  It  is  a  sweet  fellowship  of  kindred  souls, 
and,  O  Lord,  we  thank  thee  that  we  are  allowed  to 
rest  for  a  few  days  at  this  stage  of  our  earthly  pil- 
grimage ;  to  look  back  upon  the  ground,  rugged 
and  smooth,  already  passed  ;  and  leaning  upon  thine 
Almighty  arm,  to  renew  our  strength  for  what  yet 
lies  between  us  and  the  end  of  the  journey.  Pardon 
all  our  sins  and  shortcomings,  we  humbly  beseech 
thee.  Receive  us  graciously  and  love  us  freely,  for 


n6  Heman   Humphrey. 

the  sake  only  of  our  adorable  Redeemer,  to  whom 
be  glory  for  ever.  Amen  !" 

In  the  evening  came  a  throng  of  friends  from  the 
village  to  offer  their  congratulations.  If  such  occa- 
sions can  be  dignified  by  a  title  borrowed  from 
precious  substance,  it  was  a  "golden  wedding," 
indeed. 

When  the  delightful  days  of  this  family  reunion 
were  spent,  the  children  and  the  children's  children 
were  once  more  brought  together  for  benediction 
and  farewell.  The  trembling  hand  held  the  manu- 
script. The  trembling  voice  pronounced  the  words 
of  parting : 

"  Our  prayers  have  been  answered.  Our  lives 
have  been  spared,  and  God  has  brought  you  home 
from  your  wide  dispersions,  to  gladden  our  aged 
hearts  with  your  filial  greetings,  and  to  rejoice  with 
us  and  with  one  another  on  an  anniversary  such  as 
but  few  families  are  permitted  to  enjoy.  Our  cup 
of  blessings  has  been  more  than  full ;  it  has  run 
over.  It  would  be  delightful  to  have  you  all  build 
your  tabernacles  around  us  and  remain.  But  it 
may  not  be.  As  Peter,  James  and  John  must  come 
down  from  the  Mount,  and  betake  themselves  to  the 
rough  and  self-denying  duties  of  life,  under  the 
direction  of  their  Master,  so  you  have  homes  and 
duties  to  which  you  must  return 


Golden    Wedding.  117 

"  Farew ell,  notwithstanding  its  good  meaning,  is 
a  word  that  lingers,  reluctant  to  leave  our  lips.  But 
this  is  not  even  your  earthly  rest.  You  must  go 
your  several  ways ;  and  may  the  angel  of  the  cove- 
nant go  with  you !  .  .  .  .  What  changes  may 
await  you  on  the  journey  of  life  it  is  not  granted  us 
to  foresee ;  and  you  knowr,  '  It  is  not  in  man  that 
walketh  to  direct  his  steps.'  Trust  in  the  Lord  at 
all  times,  and  lean  not  to  your  own  understand- 
ings. In  all  your  ways  acknowledge  him,  and  he 

shall  direct  your  paths As  we  give  you, 

one  after  the  other,  the  parting  hand,  we  bless  you 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  May  you  be  shielded 
from  all  the  dangers  of  the  way,  and  resume  your 
duties  with  renewed  health  and  'encouragements  ! 
Take  care  to  adorn  your  Christian  profession.  We 
have  no  greater  joy  than  that  our  children  are  walk- 
ing in  the  truth.  Serve  God  and  your  generation 
faithfully,  according  to  his  will,  and  whether  we 
meet  any  more  in  this  world  or  not,  may  we  all  be 
received  as  welcome  guests  at  the  Marriage  Supper 
of  the  Lamb  ! 

"And  now,  O  Lord  our  Heavenly  Father,  go 
with  these  beloved  sons  and  daughters,  and  the 
children  thou  has  given  them.  Hitherto  thou  hast 
appointed  the  bounds  of  their  habitation  in  great 
mercy.  Whatever  future  changes  of  abode  may 


1 1 8  If eman   Humph  rey . 

await  them,  choose  out  all  such  changes  for  them  : 
guide  them  by  thy  counsel,  and  screen  them  by  thy 
grace.  May  these  thy  servants,  the  beloved  heads 
of  so  many  families,  bring  up  their  children  in  the 
nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord  !  Fulfil  to  the 
widow  and  the  fatherless  all  thy  great  and  precious 
promises.  Wilt  thou  cause  the  widow's  heart  to 
sing  for  joy ;  and  may  all  their  children  rise  up  and 
call  them  blessed ! 

"As  they  now  leave  us  we  give  them  a  parting 
blessing.  '  Guide  them,  O  thou  great  Jehovah.' 
Such  another  meeting  we  shall  never  enjoy  here 
below.  We  thank  thee,  and  call  upon  our  souls  and 
all  that  is  within  us  to  bless  thee  that  thou  hast 
granted  us  this,  so  rare  a  favor.  May  we  be  reunited 
at  last,  an  unbroken  family,  where  they  go  no  more 
out  for  ever.  This  is  opening  our  mouths  wide. 
It  is  asking  for  blessings  infinitely  great ;  but  it  is 
asking  them  in  thy  name,  O  thou  infinitely  great 
and  adorable  Saviour,  to  whom  with  thee,  O  Father, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  we  will  render  equal  and  undi- 
vided praises.  Amen." 

So  we  separated,  with  a  double  benediction  upon 
our  heads,  that  which  he  pronounced  and  that  which 
came  in  answer  to  his  prayer. 

Most  of  us  were  permitted  to  come,  once  and 
again,  to  receive  the  patriarchal  welcome  and  bless- 


Eighty-First   Birth-Day.  119 

ing  before  the  silver  cord  was  loosed  and  the  golden 
bowl  broken. 

XXVII. 

A  S  our  father's  eighty-first  birth-day  was  ushered 
^*  in,  he  sat  down  to  record  some  new  reminis- 
cences— some  fresh  expressions  of  gratitude,  some 
further  outpouring  of  prayer.  He  is  still  strong, 
but  he  reviews  the  year  just  closed  with  a  careful 
self-scrutiny.  "  I  can  see  that  my  outer  man  has 
decayed  faster  than  in  any  preceding  year,  but  I 
suffer  very  little."  "  When  I  sit  down  to  write,  it 
takes  me  longer  to  collect  my  thoughts  than  it  once 
did.  The  wings  of  my  imagination  are  clipped. 
But,  if  I  am  not  entirely  deceived,  my  judgment  has 
suffered  less.  I  seem  to  be  a  better  critic  of  popular 
books  and  speakers  than  I  was  twenty  years  ago." 
"As  yet  I  am  a  stranger  to  depression  of  spirits. 
I  still  look  on  the  bright  side  of  things  and  enjoy 
cheerful  society.  It  affords  me  great  satisfaction,  as 
I  am  passing  off  the  stage,  to  carry  with  me  the 
strong  persuasion  that  the  world  is  growing  better." 
Then  follows  the  review  of  the  year.  Then  the 
prayer  of  which  these  are  portions  : 

"  I  thank  thee  that  thou  hast  given  me  this  pleas- 
ant home  in  the  bosom  of  my  family,  and  surrounded 
by  friends  whose  hearts  are  always  warm  and  whose 


I2O  H cman   Humphrey. 

hands  are  often  filled  with  testimonies  of  their  kindly 
Christian  regard.  I  thank  thee  that  the  doors  have 
not  been  shut  in  the  streets ;  that  I  have  been  able  to 
go  out  and  come  in ;  that  I  have  not  been  left  to 
want  any  good  thing ;  that  I  have  had  health  regu- 
larly to  go  up  to  the  House  of  the  Lord.  I  thank 
thee,  O  divine  Redeemer,  that  I  have  so  often  during 
the  year  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  showing  forth  thy 
death  at  thy  table.  I  mourn  that  I  have  not  loved 
thee  more  and  served  thee  better.  I  lament  the 
poor  returns  I  have  made  to  thee  for  thy  boundless 
love  and  compassion  in  bearing  my  sins  upon  the 
cross,  and  in  opening  the  fountain  of  thine  own 
precious  blood  to  wash  them  all  away.  Oh  what 
infinite  compassion  !  Oh  what  unspeakable  mercy  ! 
Oh  what  sweet  and  melting  invitations  !  Oh  what  a 
privilege  to  have  lived  another  year  of  borrowed 
time  so  near  the  gate  of  heaven  !  Oh  for  a  thousand 
tongues  to  praise  thee  for  what  thou  art  and  for  what 
thou  hast  done  to  save  a  lost  world ! 

"  This  day  I  enter  upon  a  new  year  of  my  long 
life.  It  may  be  the  last.  I  may  scarcely  pass  the 
threshold  ere  the  final  summons  comes.  If  so,  Lord 
Jesus,  receive  my  spirit !  If  I  am  spared  a  little 
longer,  teach  me  so  to  number  my  days,  so  to  im- 
prove the  time  which  remains,  that  when  the  mes- 
senger comes  I  may  be  found  with  my  loins  girded 


Patriotic   Sermon.  121 

about  and  my  lamp  trimmed  and  burning.  Grace  ; 
rich  grace ;  free  grace  ;  this  is  all  my  hope,  flowing, 
as  it  were,  from  the  pierced  and  bleeding  heart  of 
the  Lamb  of  God,  whose  blood  alone  cleanseth  from 
all  sin  !" 

The  year  thus  opened  passed  as  peacefully  as  the 
preceding,  until,  in  its  closing  months,  the  storm  of 
the  Southern  Rebellion  rose  on  the  sky.  Dr.  Hum- 
phrey's loyal  heart  was  intensely  moved  by  the 
events  which  so  quickened  the  pulses  of  the  country. 
His  interest  in  public  affairs  was  almost  painful. 
When  the  clergymen  of  Pittsfield  met  to  make 
arrangements  for  the  day  of  National  Fasting  and 
Prayer,  to  be  observed  January  4,  1861,  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  deliver,  at  a  union  meeting,  the  sermon 
of  the  day.  He  accepted  the  invitation  with  all  the 
ardor  of  his  youth.  He  repaired  to  his  study  on  the 
very  day  of  his  appointment  and  commenced  his 
work.  His  hands  trembled  with  eagerness ;  his 
face  glowed  with  excitement.  His  family  remon- 
strated against  his  attempting  the  duty  assigned  to 
him ;  but  he  thought  himself  strong  enough  to 
undertake  it.  Could  he  refuse  to  take  the  pen 
when  so  many  were  buckling  on  the  sword?  The 
result  was  a  sermon  which,  for  argument,  for  elo- 
quence, for  religious  and  patriotic  fire,  was  consid- 
ered equal  to  the  best  efforts  of  his  meridian  days. 
11 


122  Hcman   Humphrey. 

"  It  now  lies  before  us,"  says  an  article  in  the  Inde- 
pendent, "  in  a  pamphlet  published  by  request  of 
Governor  Briggs  and  other  leading  citizens  of  Pitts- 
field,  who  heard  it  preached ;  and  it  seems  to  us  in 
every  way  a  remarkable  discourse  to  have  been  pre- 
pared and  delivered  by  a  man  standing  on  the  edge 
of  his  eighty-third  year." 

It  is  probable  that  the  excitement  attending  the 
preparation  and  delivery  of  this  sermon  depressed 
his  vital  energies,  and  hastened  the  assault  of  disease 
by  which  the  citadel  of  life  was  beseiged  and 
carried. 

In  February,  while  on  a  visit  to  Amherst,  he 
experienced  the  first  premonition  of  danger.  He 
treated  it  lightly,  as  but  the  consequence  of  the 
intense  cold  of  the  season.  It  was  but  a  difficulty 
in  breathing  which  disturbed  his  sleep.  Soon  after 
his  return  to  Pittsfield  he  suffered  from  a  recurrence 
of  the  unpleasant  symptom.  This  time  no  reason 
could  be  found  in  the  temperature.  The  difficulty 
returned  again  and  again.  It  became  alarming. 
Yet  it  is  significant  of  his  energy  of  character,  that 
he  maintained  the  customary  round  of  his  life ;  and 
while  so  much  distressed  by  panting  lungs  and 
shattered  nerves  that  he  could  not  guide  his  pen,  he 
dictated  to  one  of  his  family  a  communication  for  a 
newspaper  conducted  by  one  of  his  grandchildren^ 


His   Last   Sickness.  123 

Ere  long,  he  was  prostrated  by  an  attack  so  severe 
that  for  the  time  his  life  was  despaired  of. 


XXVIII. 

EARLY  in  March,  his  absent  children  were 
startled  by  telegraphic  summons  to  Pittsfield. 
They  hastened  thither,  scarcely  expecting  to  find 
him  living.  The  assault,  however,  had  been  success- 
fully resisted.  His  constitution,  so  strongly  braced 
and  invigorated  by  early  care  and  lifelong  prudence, 
was  not  easily  overpowered.  For  several  days  after 
the  collection  of  the  family  he  was  able  to  be  with 
them,  occasionally,  at  the  table  or  at  the  family  altar. 
But  the  conflict  with  death  had  evidently  begun. 
He  lingered  for  nearly  a  month,  gradually  becoming 
weaker.  It  was  like  the  pounding  of  a  well-riveted 
ship  upon  the  beach  on  which  it  is  cast,  losing  mast 
and  sail  and  the  lighter  fabrics  of  the  deck,  rocking 
in  the  breakers,  striking  in  the  stormier  days  with 
a  force  which  threatened  an  immediate  parting  of 
bolt  and  rib  and  knee,  yet  resisting  all  with  a  won- 
derful power. 

At  first  his  mind  was  clear.  He  understood  his 
danger,  but  for  several  days  after  his  physicians 
regarded  his  case  as  almost  hopeless  no  such  an- 
nouncement was  made  to  him.  He  was  still  able  to 


124  Hcman   Humphrey. 

move  from  room  to  room,  when,  by  one  of  his  sons 
who  has  now  rejoined  him  in  glory,  he  was  told  that 
the  end  was  near.  For  a  moment  he  was  startled. 
An  expression  of  the  most  intense  solemnity  then 
overspread  his  countenance  as,  for  the  moment,  he 
gave  himself  up  to  the  thought  of  standing  before  a 
holy  God.  Soon  afterward  he  retired  to  his  room 
and  gathered  about  him  his  family  for  the  prayer 
and  counsel  of  dying  breath. 

The  first  characteristics  of  his  religious  experience 
in  view  of  death  were  such  as  one  might  naturally 
expect,  when  considering  the  type  of  his  conversion, 
his  early  theological  training,  his  remarkable  con- 
scientiousness, and  his  equally  remarkable  humility. 
The  thought  of  God's  perfect  holiness  was  one  of 
the  grandest  in  his  creed.  He,  before  whom  the 
heavens  are  unclean,  and  who  chargeth  his  angels 
with  folly — he  who  cannot  look  upon  sin  but  with 
abhorrence,  was  now  to  be  the  Judge  of  one  who 
was  acutely  sensitive  to  his  own  shortcomings — who 
often  in  his  prayer  felt  like  laying  his  hand  upon 
his  mouth  and  his  mouth  in  the  dust,  while  far 
above  him  he  heard  the  chant  of  the  angels,  "Holy, 
holy,  holy  Lord  God  Almighty  !" 

"How  can  I,  how  can  any  mortal,  stand  before 
God?" 

The  thought  of  Christ  as  a  perfect  sacrifice  then 


His    Closing  Days.  125 

came  to  his  relief,  and  he  expressed  his  confidence 
in  the  redemption  he  has  provided.  He  did  not 
tremble  in  anticipation  of  the  judgment,  but  felt 
humbled  that  his  character  would  stand  out  in  such 
contrast  to  that  of  his  Judge.  After  a  time  this  feel- 
ing gave  way  to  those  softer  and  more  glowing  ex- 
periences which  centre  themselves  upon  Christ  the 
glorified  Saviour,  rather  than  upon  the  holy  Judge. 
Thenceforth  the  humility  of  the  conscious  sinner 
blended  with  the  glad  anticipations  of  the  saint,  re- 
deemed by  the  precious  blood  of  the  Lamb. 

Gradually  his  mind  became  clouded.  The  dis- 
ease, which  made  his  breathing  often  paroxysmal, 
deprived  the  blood  of  oxygen,  and  so  disturbed  the 
brain.  Sometimes  in  a  lucid  interval  he  would  give 
some  parting  instruction  or  say  some  parting  word. 
He  would  send  a  farewell  to  an  absent  one,  or  turn- 
ing to  the  wife — anxiously  seeking  to  soothe  and 
help  him — would  say,  "  I  trust  we  shall  spend  long 
ages  together  in  heaven.  To  dwell  with  Christ — 
that  will  be  heaven  !"  Then  some  expression  like 
this  would  drop  from  his  lips  :  "  To  love  and  serve 
God  for  ever,  without  any  imperfection — how  differ- 
ent from  the  imperfect  service  I  have  rendered 
here  !" 

'•  It  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be;  but 
we  shall  see  him  as  he  is,  and  be  for  ever  with 
11* 


126  Hcman  Humphrey. 

the  Lord  for  ever  and  ever  and  ever  with  the 
Lord  ;  worship  him — glory  inexpressible — nothing 
but  glory  and  happiness  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ !" 

"  A  glimpse  of  that  glory,  how  wonderful  !  Ever- 
lasting happiness,  and  this  just  upon  the  dying-bed 
of  the  believer ! — I  stand  and  contemplate  this 
blessedness,  and  am  filled  with  rapture  and  love — 
O  glory  !  O  heaven  !  O  bliss  !— Abounding  grace 
and  mercy  in  Jesus  Christ !" 

Sometimes,  when  water  was  given  him,  and  which 
he  continually  craved,  he  would  smile  and  refer  to 
a  spring  which  flowed  near  his  father's  house  in 
Barkhamstead.  Like  David  of  old,  he  thought  of 
the  spring  where  he  slaked  the  thirst  of  his  boyhood, 
as  the  sweetest  in  the  world.  Oh  for  a  draught 
from  that  hill-side  fountain  !  "  But  then,"  he  would 
add,  "  how  much  sweeter  will  be  the  river  of  the 
water  of  life  which  flows  from  beneath  the  Throne 
of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  !" 

At  times  we  could  hardly  decide  whether  his  ex- 
pressions were  those  of  a  collected  or  of  a  wander- 
ing mind  ;  but  always  they  showed  his  strong  cha- 
racter, his  unyielding  faith,  and  his  trust  in  the 
redeeming  blood  of  Christ. 

"  My  own  powers  of  investigation  are  entirely 
broken  down.  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  meta- 


Religious   Experiences.  127 

physical  investigations — nothing  to  come  between 
me  and  the  cross  of  Christ." 

"In  days  past,  truly  what  comforts  and  deliver- 
ances have  there  been  !" 

"  God,  help  me  to  soar — to  soar — to  soar  away  to 
glory,  honor  and  immortality  for  ever  !" 

"  Draw  out  my  faith  and  love  in  far  more  raptur- 
ous strains  !" 

"  Why  should  I  linger  any  longer  here,  O  Divine 
and  adorable  Redeemer !  What  should  keep  me 
back?" 

In  one  of  his  more  clouded  moments  he  imagined 
that  his  spirit  had  already  escaped  the  clay.  Then 
the  obscure  consciousness  of  his  suffering  gave  a 
tone  of  disappointment  to  his  expressions. 

"  I  confess  that  I  had  expected  more  of  the  glories, 
and  of  the  immediate  opening  of  the  heavenly 
world,  and  less  of  the  trial  after  death." 

But  soon  the  disappointment  gave  way  to  experi- 
ences such  as  these  expressions  reveal :  "  Blessed 
be  God  for  his  eternal  rest ! — It  is  so  unexpected  to 
see  these  glories  and  hear  that  music  ! — Swallowed 
up  and  lost !" 

"  Glorious  things  !"  cried  he,  on  another  occasion. 
"Who  could  desire  more?  And  where  is  the 
crown?  Where  is  the  seat  of  the  Saviour's 
kingdom?" 


128  Heman   Humphrey. 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  those  heavy-footed 
days  in  which  he  lingered  in  waiting  for  his  release. 
But  they  ended  at  last  on  Wednesday,  April  3. 
He  passed  his  eighty-second  birth-day  in  suffering, 
just  a  week  before.  We  had  almost  hoped  that 
would  be  the  day  of  his  departure,  that  thus  the 
earthly  might  run  evenly  into  the  heavenly  calen- 
dar. Perhaps  that  last  week  of  the  "tribulation" 
out  of  which  he  "  came"  at  length,  was  important  to 
the  perfecting  of  his  glory  among  those  who  have 
"  made  white  their  robes  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb." 

Another  pen  has  told  the  rest  of  the  story.  In 
the  funeral  sermon  by  Rev.  Dr.  Todd — a  discourse 
so  eloquent  in  thought  and  feeling,  so  just  and  dis- 
criminating in  its  tributes  to  Dr.  Humphrey's  mem- 
ory— is  this  passage  : 

"  His  last  sickness  was  an  exhibition  of  one  of 
the  mysteries  of  our  nature,  when  disease  preys 
upon  the  nerves  with  a  power  which  no  medical 
skill  can  control,  and  which  seems  to  make  the 
whole  body  a  collection  of  diseased  cords — not  one 
of  which  can  be  quieted  till  the  body  and  intellect 
are  overpowered — a  state  most  painful  to  bear,  and 
hardly  less  so  to  witness.  For  the  most  part  the 
reason  was  clouded ;  but  even  then,  in  the  dark 
prison-house,  his  spirit  was  feeling  after  the  pillars 


The   End.  129 

of  truth  and  searching  for  her  accustomed  light. 
Samson,  in  the  prison-house,  dark  and  dreary,  is 
noble,  even  there.  At  one  time,  in  the  mazes  of  a 
beclouded  intellect — tempted,  as  he  thought,  to 
apostatize — he  told  his  imaginary  tempter  :  '  No,  I 
cannot  become  a  Jew  !'  And  as  the  trial  was  crowd- 
ing harder,  and  he  felt  that  he  was  persecuted  to 
turn  Mohammedan,  he  said,  with  his  own  emphatic 
voice  and  manner,  '  No  amount  of  suffering,  mental 
or  physical,  will  make  me  iurn  Mohammedan  !'  and 
then  added — and  in  the  circumstances  of  the  case  it 
was  sublime — '  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed !  I 
know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth  !  I  stand  upon  the 
Rock  of  Ages !' 

"At  another  time,  when  a  friend  intimated  to  him 
that  his  end  was  near,  he  seemed  to  start  up  out 
of  the  lethargy,  the  cloud  at  once  lifted,  reason 
rallied  to  her  throne,  and  for  a  few  minutes,  like  the 
dying  Jacob,  he  sat  up,  called  for  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren to  come  around  him,  when  he  gave  to  each  a 
few  words  of  love — more  precious  than  jewels — and 
sent  special  messages  to  absent  children  and  friends. 
It  was  the  sun  breaking  out  between  the  evening 
clouds — clear,  soft  and  beautiful.  In  a  few  moments 
he  fell  back,  and  the  bright  daylight  was  gone ;  and 
when  the  spirit  again  became  conscious,  she  was  in 
unclouded,  everlasting  day.  When  the  hour  of 

I 


130  Heman   Humphrey. 

dismissal  came,  the  angel  of  death  walked  the  room 
so  softly  that  his  steps  were  not  heard.  Like  David 
of  old,  '  he  fell  on  sleep,'  as  on  a  pillow,  and  the 
only  difference  to  him  between  sleep  and  death  was, 
that  in  the  one  case,  the  bosom  barely  heaved,  and 
in  the  other  it  was  still,  and  the  prophecy  was  ful- 
filled, '  Thou  shalt  come  to  thy  grave  in  a  full  age, 
like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  in  his  season  !' 
and  the  great  prayer  of  the  Redeemer  was  answered 
— '  Father,  I  will  that  those  whom  thou  hast  given 
me.  be  with  me  where  I  am,  that  they  may  behold 
my  glory.'" 

The  funeral  was  attended,  April  8,  from  the  Con- 
gregational Church.  The  building  was  heavily 
draped  in  black.  An  immense  concourse  was  pres- 
ent. The  services  were  conducted  by  several  cler- 
gymen. And  when  the  benediction  was  pronounced, 
the  last  look  at  the  peaceful  face  was  taken.  Then 
the  long  procession,  then  the  words  of  burial,  then 
the  rounded  grave.  Now  the  granite  monument, 
inscribed  with  a  favorite  text  of  him  whose  dust 
reposes  beneath  it : 

INCREASING   IN  THE   KNOWLEDGE   OF   GOD. 

Now,  also,  ten  thousand  precious  memories  ;  count- 
less influences  ;  words  that  cannot  die  ;  a  character 
which  stands,  strong  and  shapely,  where  thought 


His    Characteristics.  131 

sets  up  its  models,  one  of  the  few  realities  among 
our  ideals  of  human  excellence  and  symmetry. 

Having  thus  imperfectly  traced  the  connected  line 
of  Dr.  Humphrey's  history,  it  still  remains  to  delin- 
eate analytically  his  characteristics.  In  attempting 
this  we  are  fully  aware  of  the  difficulty  besetting  the 
partial  pen  of  a  son.  Yet  there  is  an  advantage  in 
the  intimacy  of  a  child  which  no  stranger  could  ever 
enjoy.  Public  men  are  often  studied  from  the  dis- 
tance, somewhat  as  the  astronomer  of  to-day  studies 
the  planets.  We  have  maps  and  globes  represent- 
ing Mars.  We  are  told  of  the  snows  at  its  poles, 
and  of  the  seas  and  continents  which  clothe  its 
milder  zones.  An  inhabitant  of  the  planet — if  such 
there  be — could  tell  us  far  more  of  his  world  than 
an  earthly  astronomer  could  ever  learn,  though  his 
glasses  were  never  so  powerful.  In  the  use  of  that 
knowledge  which  is  derived  from  the  most  intimate 
relations  to  our  subject,  we  shall  endeavor  to  be  im- 
partial ;  we  shall  be  pardoned  if  we  overdraw. 

THE   MAN. 

In  physical  constitution  he  was  unusually  strong 
and  vigorous.  He  was  subject  to  few  maladies,  was 
haunted  by  no  chronic  disorder,  and  was  seldom 
prostrated  by  acute  disease.  The  vital  machinery 
ran  on  for  eighty  years,  with  scarcely  an  interrup- 


132  Heman   Humphrey. 

tion  in  its  regular  movements.  He  was  of  bilious 
temperament,  and  so  well  balanced,  that  while  sel- 
dom unduly  excited,  he  was  as  seldom  unduly 
depressed.  He  was  never  so  much  burdened  by 
care  that  he  could  not  sleep  through  the  hours  of 
repose.  His  load  was  never  carried  beyond  the 
door  of  his  bed-chamber.  In  person,  he  was 
of  medium  height  and  well  developed.  His  eye 
was  dark  and  mild.  His  hair,  in  earlier  life,  was 
black,  and  curled  about  the  high  and  rounded 
"  dome  of  thought,"  which,  in  later  years,  was 
smooth,  from  eyebrow  to  summit.  Till  past  middle 
life  his  face  was  full  and  ruddy.  He  was  fond  of 
physical  exertion,  and  never  abandoned  it.  The 
habits  of  the  farmer  clung  to  him  to  the  last. 
Throughout  the  period  of  his  presidency  he  con- 
ducted a  small  farm,  the  operations  of  which  he 
always  found  time  to  oversee. 

It  is  related  of  Rev.  *Dr.  Emmons,  that  he 
adopted  a  life  so  sedentary  that  he  wore  holes  in 
the  floor  of  his  study  by  the  incessant  chafing  of  his 
chair;  and  that  he  would  not  abandon  the  "  Lord's 
work"  at  the  writing-table  to  help  secure  his  hay, 
imperiled  by  a  coming  shower.  We  have  often 
followed  the  President  from  the  study  to  the  hay- 
field,  under  both  bright  and  clouded  skies.  No  one 
was  a  better  judge  than  he  of  the  quality  of  an  axe 


His    Wisdom.  133 

or  a  scythe.  No  one  better  knew  where  to  insert  a 
wedge  into  a  refractory  knot.  He  was  fond  of 
driving  or  rambling  amid  the  beautiful  scenery 
which  always  surrounded  him.  He  was  skillful  in 
the  use  of  rod  and  gun,  though  he  seldom  allowed 
himself  to  gratify  the  tastes  of  the  sportsman.  The 
garden,  the  field,  the  orchard,  afforded  him  the  most 
of  his  exercise. 

In  mental  constitution  he  was  unusually  sym- 
metrical. If  any  qualities  were  prominent,  they 
were  those  which  made  him  a  man  of  practical 
wisdom  and  judgment.  John  Locke  would  have 
referred  to  him  as  an  example  of  "  roundabout 
sense."  Dr.  Todd  says  of  him  : 

"  A  rare  thing  it  is  to  find  a  man  who  has  lived 
more  than  fourscore  years — always  in  action — who 
has  said  and  done  so  few  unwise  things  as  Presi- 
dent Humphrey.  It  is  an  original  gift.  Those 
who  have  gone  to  him  for  counsel,  those  who  have 
acted  with  him  on  committees  or  on  ecclesiastical 
councils,  those  who  have  wrestled  with  him  in  deep 
discussions  in  ministerial  meetings,  those  who  have 
sat  under  him  as  an  instructor  or  pastor,  have  all, 
without  dissent,  accorded  to  him  the  appellation  of 
'a  wise  man.'  On  all  moral  questions  his  instincts 
were  quick  and  unerring.  Though  he  made  no 
pretensions  to  far-reaching  views,  yet  all  knew  that 
12 


134  Heman   Humphrey. 

to  follow  his  advice  was  to  walk  in  safety.  I  never 
knew  an  instance  where  it  was  disregarded  when 
the  mistake  was  not  most  manifest  sooner  or  later. 
You  might  pour  over  him  a  load  of  theories  and 
opinions,  and  he  would  instantly  pick  out  the  true 
from  the  shams." 

Associated  with  this  wisdom,  was  an  unusual  tact 
in  reading  character,  in  discerning  motives  and  in 
harmonizing  conflicting  feelings.  His  success  in 
eradicating  the  Half-way  Covenant  from  the  church 
in  Fairfield,  in  cementing  the  broken  fibres  of  the 
church  in  Pittsfield,  and  in  promoting  the  interests 
of  Amherst  College  in  its  days  of  struggle,  are 
ready  illustrations. 

His  logical  faculties  were  not  uncommon.  His 
reasonings  were  conducted  more  by  analogy  than 
by  demonstration.  Yet  his  deductions  from  facts 
were  clear  and  convincing.  The  Baconian  method 
was  his  especial  favorite.  Facts  were  the  "stub- 
born things"  out  of  which  he  loved  to  frame  his 
arguments.  He  was  not  marked  as  an  original 
thinker,  but  he  was  distinguished  for  the  solid  fire 
of  talent,  if  not  for  the  brilliant  corruscations  of 
genius. 

He  had  a  lively  fancy,  but  not  a  powerful  imagi- 
nation. His  writings  were  often  as  highly  illumi- 
nated as  a  missal ;  but  the  tints  of  the  illumination 


His   Humor.  135 

were,  like  those  of  a  missal,  borrowed,  though  skill- 
fully combined.  So,  while  he  had  little  wit,  he  had 
an  abundance  of  humor.  This  played  on  the  sur- 
face of  all  his  familiar  conversations.  It  made  his 
after-dinner  speeches  on  Commencement  occasions 
always  agreeable.  One  of  the  laws  of  the  College 
was,  that  no  firearms  should  be  kept  in  the  students' 
rooms  or  used  by  them  during  term-time.  We  well 
remember  meeting  him  one  day  as  he  was  coming 
down  the  College  hill,  with  a  gun  on  each  shoulder. 
"  I  have  captured  two  stand  of  arms,"  said  he,  with 
the  air  of  a  conqueror.  A  clergyman  of  no  very 
distinguished  ability  once  received  the  "semi-lunar 
fardels"  at  a  college  Commencement.  Delighted 
with  the  dignity,  he  asked  President  Humphrey, 
"  On  what  principle  do  you  confer  these  titles?" 
"We  give  them,"  was  the  reply,  "to  three  classes 
of  men :  First,  to  those  who  eminently  deserve 
them ;  second,  to  those  whose  friends  would  be 
gratified  by  the  honor  conferred ;  third,  to  those 
who  cannot  possibly  get  along  without  them  !" 

No  one  ever  enjoyed  a  harmless  joke  more  than 
he.  No  one  was  more  fond  of  a  good  story.  He 
had  many  College  jokes  in  his  repertoire,  and  often 
related  them.  We  have  often  seen  him  linger,  as 
he  was  leaving  a  room  in  which  his  children  were 
relating  the  humors  of  the  day,  that  he  might  carry 


136  Heman   Humphrey. 

away  the  flavor  of  the  jest.  Sometimes,  when  the 
joke  seemed  a  little  questionable,  he  would  stop 
behind  the  half-closed  door  until  the  burst  of  laugh- 
ter came,  and  then  go  away,  his  white  teeth  glisten- 
ing along  the  hall ;  not  quite  willing  to  rebuke,  nor 
unwilling  to  enjoy. 

His  moral  sensibilities  were  predominant.  Chief 
among  them  all  was  conscience.  In  the  Mint  at 
Philadelphia  is  a  delicate  machine  for  testing  the 
weight  of  coin.  A  quantity  of  gold-pieces  is  poured 
into  a  receptacle  which  opens  against  the  breast  of 
a  wheel.  This  wheel  is  put  in  revolution.  The 
coins  pass  down  the  periphery,  and  are  received  on 
a  series  of  scales,  so  contrived  that  if  the  coins  which 
fall  upon  them  are  below  the  standard  weight,  they 
are  thrown  into  one  compartment  below  ;  if  above, 
into  another ;  if  of  standard  weight,  into  a  third. 
Dr.  Humphrey's  conscience  was  as  sensitive  and 
discriminating  as  this  machine.  His  own  thoughts 
and  acts,  as  also  the  thoughts  and  acts  of  others, 
were  incessantly  tried  by  it.  Nothing  could  induce 
him  to  put  a  rejected  coin  in  circulation.  We  have 
already  referred  to  the  uneasiness  of  soul  which  re- 
sulted from  a  single  neglect  of  public  worship,  while 
a  lad,  on  a  day  of  fasting.  In  his  papers  we  find  : 
"  In  thinking  over  my  fanning  days,  one  reflection 
gives  me  great  satisfaction :  I  never,  that  I  can 


His    Conscientiousness.  137 

recollect,  deceived  my  employers,  and  never  disap- 
pointed them  if  I  could  help  it.  When  I  went  home 
on  a  visit,  I  made  it  a  point  to  return  at  the  time  which 
was  set ;  and  I  cannot  remember  that  I  ever  failed." 
He  speaks  reproachfully  of  having,  on  one  occasion, 
slept  an  hour  among  the  leaves  on  a  warm  April 
day,  when  he  should  have  been'  at  work.  It  was 
his  onlv  offence  of  this  nature.  None  but  a  man  of 

m/ 

sterling  conscience  would  have  remembered  it  so 
long.  He  was  habitually  exact  in  his  dealings  with 
men. 

An  Amherst  merchant  has  recently  told  us  that 
Dr.  Humphrey  invariably  threw  himself  upon  the 
conscience  of  the  dealer  in  selecting  his  purchases, 
and  then  paid  the  uttermost  farthing.  He  once 
purchased  a  horse  of  a  man  who,  while  accepting 
the  price  offered,  told  him  that  the  animal  was  worth 
ten  dollars  more  than  the  limit  his  customer  had 
fixed.  After  trying  the  animal,  Dr.  Humphrey  was 
so  well  satisfied  with  the  purchase  that  he  returned 
to  the  dealer  and  insisted  upon  his  accepting  the 
extra  sum.  This  scrupulous  conscientiousness  un- 
doubtedly gave  its  tone  to  his  religious  experiences. 
It  was  this  which  in  his  dying  hours  made  it  seem 
so  fearful  a  thing  for  a  sinner — even  a  sinner  re- 
deemed— to  stand  before  a  holy  God. 

Closely  allied  to  his  conscientiousness,  was  a  re- 
12* 


138  II cman    Humphrey. 

markable  humility.  He  was  not  inclined  to  depre- 
ciate his  abilities ;  nor  was  he  ever  guilty  of  over- 
estimating them.  He  never  coveted  places  of 
honor ;  he  spontaneously  shrank  from  them,  yet 
assumed  them  when  it  became  plain  that  duty  called 
him.  He  was  never  jealous  of  other  men,  though 
they  were  occupying  positions  which  his  friends 
thought  he  could  better  fill.  Dr.  Todd  says  of  him  : 

"  Humility  pervaded  his  whole  character.  We 
never  heard  him  complain  of  neglect,  hard  usage, 
or  of  any  disappointment.  Even  in  age,  when  the 
old  war-horse  could  not  snuff  the  battle  and  laugh 
at  the  rattling  of  the  spear  as  he  once  could,  he  sub- 
mitted as  quietly  and  as  meekly  as  a  little  child  who 
had  never  left  the  shadows  of  his  father's  house. 
It  was  not  the  humility  produced  by  comparing 
himself  with  other  men,  but  humility  before  God, 
learned  by  leaning  against  the  cross  and  looking 
into  the  face  of  Jesus.  And  when  we  beheld  his 
face  shining  as  did  the  face  of  Moses,  we  knew  it 
was  because  he  had  dwelt  long  in  the  mount  with 
God." 

His  humility  was  nowhere  so  conspicuous  as  in 
his  estimate  of  himself  as  a  subject  of  God's  govern- 
ment. "  What  is  man,  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him, 
and  the  son  of  man,  that  thou  visitest  him?"  was  the 
frequent  exclamation  of  his  prayer.  He  looked  up 


His   Benevolence.  139 

to  the  great  Jehovah  with  an  awful  reverence.  His 
"  Invocation"  in  the  sanctuary  was  often  as  solemn 
as  if  he  expected  the  departed  glories  of  the  She- 
kinah  to  burst  again  in  the  house  of  God. 

Associated  with  his  humility  was  a  beautiful  sim- 
plicity and  magnanimity  of  character.  He  was  as 
guileless  and  transparent  as  a  child ;  as  ready  to 
apologize  for  or  to  forgive  an  enemy  as  if  he  could 
not  see  a  bad  intention.  His  friends  were  some- 
times almost  impatient  with  him  for  his  want  of 
what  they  considered  a  just  resentment.  Mean- 
while he  went  forward,  subduing  by  his  magnanim- 
ity those  who  perhaps  might  have  only  impatiently 
thrown  off  the  "  coals  of  fire"  which  resentment 
kindles.  In  his  simplicity  he  was  often  surprised 
that  others  should  "stand  upon  etiquette."  In  his 
magnanimity  he  would  go  far  to  say  a  kind  word 
or  do  a  kind  act  for  one  who  had  injured  him. 

His  benevolence  was  large  and  systematically 
cultivated.  He  believed  in  God's  promises  to  the 
cheerful  giver  and  to  the  liberal  soul.  In  his  later 
years,  he  invariably  laid  aside  a  certain  proportion 
of  all  his  pecuniary  receipts  to  enable  him  to  meet 
the  constant  calls  of  charity.  Among  his  papers 
is  a  memorandum-book,  in  which  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  entering  all  his  income ;  the  smallest  frag- 
ments, that  which  was  paid  for  a  newspaper  article 


He  man    Humphrey. 

or  a  Sunday's  preaching  among  the  rest,  and 
against  every  entry  was  a  cross,  followed  by  the 
fractional  sign  which  indicated  the  proportion 
appropriated  to  benevolence.  The  "chanty  fund" 
was  generally  kept  between  the  leaves  of  this  book. 
Hence  he  almost  always  had  "  something  to  give" 
which  had  already  passed  into  the  Lord's  treasury. 
Thus  he  always  knew  how  much  to  appropriate, 
and  giving  was  "  easy."  Sometimes,  however,  he 
would  give  "  upon  faith."  We  have  often  heard 
him  relate  the  story  of  an  impoverished  woman, 
who,  being  reduced  to  the  last  extremity,  declared 
to  him  that  she  did  not  know  what  next  to  do  except 
"  to  begin  to  give."  On  one  occasion,  at  least,  he 
illustrated  the  theory  underlying  the  poor  woman's 
remark,  by  a  gift  which,  on  any  other  theory,  would 
seem  extravagant.  The  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Missions  was  near  the  close 
of  one  of  its  difficult  financial  years.  A  special 
appeal  was  made  for  funds.  It  was  so  urgent  that 
he  felt  impelled  to  contribute  a  sum  which  at  that 
time  could  not  on  any  system  of  worldly  economics 
be  spared.  "The  Lord  will  provide,"  said  he,  as 
he  gave  it.  During  the  following  week  he  received 
an  invitation  to  perform  a  marriage  ceremony  in  a 
neighboring  town.  He  complied,  and,  to  his  great 
surprise,  received  a  fee  of  exactly  the  sum  con- 


His   Affections.  141 

tributed.  Dr.  Humphrey's  affections  were  deep 
and  rich,  yet  he  was  not  peculiarly  demonstrative. 
The  current  was  even  and  tranquil,  without  freshet, 
without  waterfall. 

That  with  these  excellences  of  character  some 
defects  were  mingled,  he,  if  now  living  to  read  this 
sketch,  would  be  foremost  to  declare ;  but  no  fault 
in  him  was  ever  so  clear  as  the  lowest  of  his  virtues. 
Let  us  appeal  once  more  to  the  language  of  his 
funeral  sermon : 

"In  speaking  of  the  character  of  this  father,  I 
should  fear  to  express  my  honest  convictions  in  full 
among  any  people  who  did  not  know  him  as  you 
have  done.  I,  certainly,  have  had  good  opportuni- 
ties to  read  his  character,  and  I  may  speak  with  the 
reverence  of  a  son  and  the  frankness  of  a  friend. 
And  I  honestly  and  deliberately  say,  that  though  it 
would  be  weak  and  wicked  to  call  any  man  perfect, 
yet  I  have  never  known  a  man  who,  in  my  estima- 
tion, came  so  near  being  fatdtless  as  Dr.  Hum- 
phrey. High  praise,  you  will  say  ;  and  yet  there  is 
not  a  man  in  this  community  who  would  dissent 
from  it." 

If  the  qualities  thus  delineated  are  kept  in  view, 
we  shall  carry  some  light  with  us  in  conducting  the 
remainder  of  our  analysis. 


142  Heman   Humphrey. 

THE   PREACHER. 

It  would  naturally  be  supposed  that  the  peculiari- 
ties of  Dr.  Humphrey's  early  culture  would  exhibit 
themselves  in  his  pulpit  discourses.  To  a  certain 
extent  they  did,  at  the  outset  of  his  ministry.  Yet  the 
style  of  his  first  sermons  was  not  more  defective  than 
that  of  many  a  young  preacher  who  has  all  the  edu- 
cational advantages  of  the  present  day.  It  was, 
perhaps,  somewhat  ambitious ;  yet  our  teachers  now 
prefer  occasional  flights  by  their  pupils  to  a  tame 
and  level  propriety.  A  bird  will  never  draw  its 
even  circles  on  the  sky  without  first  venturing  on 
irregular  wings.  What  is  most  observable  in  the 
style  of  Dr.  Humphrey's  early  productions  is  an  in- 
tense earnestness  and  a  certain  robust  quality.  The 
sweep  of  his  sentences  was  like  that  of  the  arm 
which  could  reap  an  acre  per  day  in  the  harvest- 
field.  The  thought  is  clear  and  the  manner  of 
expression  is  forcible  and  vivid.  The  quotations  we 
have  made  from  his  sermons  on  Temperance,  in 
Fairfield,  afford  an  average  example.  By  practice 
he  gained  rapid  improvement,  and  soon  became  one 
of  the  most  attractive  preachers  of  his  day.  Per- 
haps his  power  in  the  pulpit  was  never  so  great  as 
during  the  period  covered  by  the  twenty  years  be- 
tween 1815  and  1835.  His  voice  was  then  strong 


In    the   Pulpit.  143 

and  mellow ;  his  delivery  was  animated  and  often 
powerful.  He  was  frequently  invited  to  preach  on 
important  occasions,  and  seldom  disappointed  his 
audience.  His  eloquence  was  never  stormy,  but 
was  often  impassioned  in  a  high  degree.  The 
cast  of  his  sermons  was,  for  that  day,  "  fresh"  and 
"  modern."  He  emancipated  himself  from  the  me- 
chanical divisions  and  subdivisions,  the  "  improve- 
ments" and  the  interminable  vertebras  of  inference, 
so  much  employed  by  celebrated  preachers  before 
him.  Not  that  he  wrote  without  a  "  plan ;"  not  that 
he  rejected  the  numerals  and  the  "  heads"  which 
they  designated ;  but  that  he  made  his  divisions  so 
few  and  so  natural  that  the  articulations  of  his 
"  skeletons"  were  not  painfully  apparent.  He 
sought  the  advantage  of  freshness  in  his  preaching, 
so  far  as  it  could  be  made  promotive  of  true  power. 
He  would  sacrifice  nothing  to  effect ;  he  would  make 
use  of  effect  so  far  as  it  might  aid  him  in  promoting 
the  triumphs  of  the  Gospel. 

He  was  never  "  sensational"  in  the  pulpit.  He 
never  there  indulged  in  wit  or  sarcasm — scarcely 
ever  in  the  mildest  humor.  His  strain  was  always 
dignified  and  lofty.  One  would  say  that  in  his 
ordinary  ministrations  he  was  rather  a  "  legal"  than 
a  "spiritual"  preacher — that  is,  in  this  modified 
sense,  that  he  dwelt  much  upon  the  governmental 


144  Heman   Humphrey. 

as  closely  associated  with  the  redemptive  aspects 
of  Christianity.  He  had  no  confidence  in  "  works." 
Faith  was  to  him  the  one  condition  of  eternal  life ; 
yet  he  stoutly  proclaimed  God  a  Sovereign,  and  man 
a  rebel  under  infinite  obligations  to  repent  and  sub- 
mit to  a  rejected  authority.  He  centred  all  his 
hopes  and  all  the  hopes  of  the  world  upon  the 
Cross  ;  yet  the  life  of  obedience  was  made,  perhaps, 
more  prominent  than  the  life  which  is  fed  in  con- 
scious union  with  Christ.  He  preached  the  hard 
doctrines,  stripping  bare  the  heart  in  its  depravity, 
then  throwing  it  back  on  the  mercy  of  Him  whose 
*'  strong  decrees"  already  enclose  the  destiny  of 
every  man.  Christ  was  to  him  a  Sovereign  Re- 
deemer, rather  than  a  personal  intimate  for  every 
man's  heart  and  home. 

The  results  of  his  preaching  were  eminently 
"  spiritual."  He  aimed  to  secure  that  obedience 
which  springs  spontaneously  from  a  sanctified  heart. 
The  piety  he  loved  was  thoroughly  experimental. 
One  of  his  favorite  books  was  "  Edwards  on  the 
Affections."  He  had  no  confidence  in  a  piety  based 
upon  a  simple  act  of  submission  to  God  and  a  reso- 
lution to  live  a  holy  life.  Regeneration  and  sancti- 
fication  by  the  Holy  Ghost  were  central  ideas  in  his 
creed.  His  presentation  of  the  hard  doctrines  was 
designed  to  promote  an  absolute  dependence  upon 


Dependence   and  Free   Agency.  145 

the  Triune  God  as  Sovereign,  as  Sanctifier  and  as 
Redeemer.  He  was  satisfied  with  nothing  less  than 
a  rectification  of  the  affections  as  well  as  of  the 
will.  In  these  respects,  as  well  as  in  many  others, 
he  was  representative  of  the  period  over  which  his 
life  was  spread.  When  the  type  of  popular  preach- 
ing was  so  far  changed  as  to  bring  man's  responsi- 
bility into  the  foreground,  he  was  not  slow  to  recog- 
nize the  usefulness  of  this  mode  of  address.  He 
sought  to  blend  the  advantages  of  the  earlier  and 
of  the  later  type,  so  as  to  avail  himself  of  both. 

"  However  paradoxical  it  may  seem,"  he  writes 
in  his  autobiographical  papers,  "I  am  persuaded 
that  sinners  ought  to  be  just  as  earnestly  exhorted  to 
give  their  hearts  immediately  to  God  as  if  no  divine 
help  were  needed ;  for  there  is  nothing  in  the  way 
but  their  own  desperate  depravity.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  turning  men 
from  darkness  to  light  ought  to  be  kept  as  distinctly 
in  view  as  if  no  other  agency  were  concerned  in  the 
matter  ;  for  no  sinner  ever  will  come  to  Christ  except 
the  Father  draw  him.  There  is  no  way  to  deprive 
him  of  all  his  excuses,  and  make  him  despair  of 
helping  himself,  but  by  preaching  free  agency  and 
entire  dependence  upon  the  sovereign  mercy  of 
God." 

His  exalted  idea  of  the  preacher's  office  is  well 

13  K 


146  Hcman   Humphrey. 

exhibited  by  a  passage  from  a  sermon  delivered 
before  the  Annual  Convention  of  the  Congregational 
Ministers  of  Massachusetts,  in  Boston,  May  29,  1830  : 
"Never,  surely,  were  duties  so  momentous  de- 
volved by  any  temporal  prince  upon  his  most  confi- 
dential servants  as  those  which  devolve  upon  every 
minister  of  Christ.  Never  were  such  mighty  inter- 
ests suspended  upon  a  single  word  or  action. 
Never,  in  the  proudest  days  of  Assyrian  or  Persian 
glory,  did  those  who  stood  nearest  the  throne  act 
under  such  amazing  responsibility.  Never  were 
such  rewards  promised  to  good  and  faithful  servants. 
Think,  oh  think,  of  the  unspeakable  difference  !  A 
minister  of  State  may,  by  his  wisdom  and  fidelity, 
gain  a  new  province  for  his  master,  or  may  lose  half 
the  kingdom  by  his  treachery  or  neglect.  An  am- 
bassador may,  by  a  skillful  and  timely  negotiation, 
dissipate  or  turn  away  the  gathering  storm  of  war 
from  his  country ;  or  he  may  so  misrepresent  his 
sovereign  in  a  foreign  court  as  to  darken  the  politi- 
cal heavens  at  once  and  bring  down  the  tempest  in 
all  its  fury.  For  his  fidelity  and  success  he  may  be 
rewarded  with  domains  or  titles,  or,  if  unfaithful  to 
his  high  trust,  he  may  be  banished  or  beheaded  for 
his  crime.  But  weigh  these  interests,  these  rewards, 
these  penalties,  if  you  can,  against  the  interests  of 
the  kingdom  of  Christ;  the  worth  of  the  undying 


The   Kingdom    of  Christ.  147 

soul ;  the  smiles,  or  the  wrath  of  the  Lamb  ;  the 
heights  of  'glory  and  honor  and  immortality,'  or 
the  unfathomable  depths  of  shame  and  remorse  and 
agony  !  Time  here,  and  eternity  there  !  A  feather 
in  one  scale,  and  the  everlasting  mountains  in  the 
other !" 

His  views  of  the  glory  of  Christ's  kingdom  are 
also  presented  in  the  same  discourse.  Redemption, 
to  him,  meant  the  subjection  of  a  world  to  him  whose 
right  it  is  to  rule  and  reign,  King  of  nations  as  he 
is  King  of  saints. 

"  How  glorious  is  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  in  its 
constitution,  in  its  laws,  in  its  administration,  and  in 
its  peaceful  advance  to  universal  empire  !  Every 
great  movement,  every  new  conquest,  every  trophy 
reminds  us  that  it  is  not  of  this  world.  Its  all-per- 
vading spirit  is  the  spirit  of  holiness,  of  love,  of 
pure  disinterested  benevolence.  While  the  factitious 
glare  of  earthly  monarchies  conceals  a  vast  amount 
of  corruption,  misery  and  crime  under  an  imposing 
exterior,  the  kingdom  of  Immanuel  '  is  all  glorious 
within ;'  and  the  emanations  of  this  central  glory 
will  shine  '  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day.' 
As  in  the  natural  world  the  empire  of  the  sun 
advances  just  as  fast  and  as  far  as  the  light  shines, 
so  it  is  with  the  Sun  of  Righteousness.  His  domin- 
ion will  become  universal,  just  as  soon  as  he  shall 


148  Heman   Humphrey. 

irradiate  all  lands.  Behold,  then,  how  his  celestial 
beams  already  gild  the  spires  of  ten  thousand  tem- 
ples dedicated  to  his  worship  !  See  how  fast  the 
light  wings  its  way  from  one  dark  mountain  to 
another.  See  how  the  shadows  of  death  flee  be- 
fore it,  as  it  glances  upon  the  pagoda  and  the 
mosque ;  as  it  shines  broadly  upon  the  islands  of 
the  Pacific  and  penetrates  the  savage  wilderness 
of  our  own  country.  Extend  your  view  still  far- 
ther. See  every  great  valley  of  death  illumined, 
every  moral  desert  reclaimed,  every  foul  spirit 
cast  out,  every  pagan  altar  thrown  down,  every 
nation  and  every  tribe  under  heaven  coming  joyfully 
under  the  peaceful  sceptre  of  Jesus  !  Then  listen 
to  '  numbers  without  number'  of  jubilant  voices  in 
every  variety  of  human  language  hymning  praises 
to  the  Redeemer !" 

Among  the  favorite  sermons  which  he  loved  to 
preach  in  the  evening  of  life,  were  two,  one  of 
which  is  upon  the  text,  "  On  his  head  were  many 
crowns."  Rev.  xix.  13.  It  presents  a  glowing  pic- 
ture of  the  glory  of  Christ,  as  he  shall  appear  when 
all  things  shall  have  been  placed  under  his  feet. 

The  other  embodies  the  anticipations  of  one  who 
has  devoted  many  long  years  to  a  study  which,  how- 
ever profound,  can  carry  one  but  little  beyond  the 
alphabet  in  this  mortal  state.  He  felt,  with  Sir  Isaac 


A    Favorite    Sermon.  149 

Newton,  that  he  had  been  like  a  child  gathering 
shells  on  the  beach  of  an  unexplored  sea.  He 
looked  forward  with  longing  to  the  experiences  of 
that  period  when  the  sea  itself  should  be  traversed 
and  sounded.  The  text  of  this  sermon  is,  Col.  i. 
9,  10.  Its  key-words  are  those  already  quoted  as 
cut  upon  his  monument,  so  vividly  expressive  of 
what  he  has  already  begun  to  realize — "Increasing 
in  the  knowledge  of  God."  On  the  cover  of  the 
manuscript  is  written  the  title ;  a  record  of  the  pul- 
pits in  which  the  discourse  was  preached — twenty- 
seven  in  all ;  also  the  first  lines  of  several  appropri- 
ate hymns,  such  as  : 

"  Lord,  when  my  raptured  thought  surveys  !" 
"  Great  God,  how  infinite  art  thou  !" 
"  Come,  O  my  soul,  in  sacred  lays  !" 
"  My  God  !  my  portion  and  my  love  !" 
Its  style  of  thought  and  expression  may  be  in- 
ferred from  the  following  passages  taken  from  near 
the  close  : 

"We  have  as  much  evidence  that  the  saints 
in  light  will  increase  in  the  knowledge  of  God, 
as  that  their  happiness  will  increase ;  for  happi- 
ness and  knowledge  in  the  world  of  glory  are  in- 
separable. The  more  they  know  of  God  the  more 
they  will  love  him ;  and  the  more  they  love  him  the 
happier  will  they  be.  The  human  soul  is  made  for 

13  « 


150  Heman    Humphrey. 

progress.  It  thirsts  for  knowledge ;  and  though  a 
depraved  heart  weakens  and  obscures  the  intellect, 
still,  when  knowable  objects  are  presented  to  the 
mind,  it  will  learn  something ;  how  much  more, 
when,  renewed,  washed  and  perfectly  sanctified,  it 
enters  heaven,  and  all  its  glories  break  upon  the 
enraptured  vision  !  There  may  be  latent  energies 
in  the  soul  of  man  which  will  astonish  angels  when 
they  come  to  be  developed.  We  know  that  the 
human  mind  is  essentially  spiritual  and  active. 
There  is  no  proof  that  it  ever  sleeps  a  single  hour 
from  infancy  to  old  age.  Nor,  after  it  leaves  the 
body  and  gets  the  free  use  of  its  wings,  have  we 
reason  to  think  it  ever  tires. 

"  Think  of  the  countless  millions  of  suns  and  sys- 
tems which  astronomy  has  already  revealed  to  mor- 
tal vision.  Who  can  tell  how  many  of  these  the 
redeemed  will  visit,  or  what  discoveries  they  will 
make  of  God's  ineffable  glory  beyond  what  hath 
entered  into  the  heart  of  man?  And  then,  beyond 
all  these  stars  and  the  nebulae  yet  unresolved,  there 
is  room  enough  in  the  infinite  depths  of  space  for 
millions  of  other  suns  and  systems  to  one  that  has 
yet  been  discovered.  Who  can  tell  how  many  mil- 
lions of  them  the  saints  will  be  permitted  to  visit  in 
the  progress  of  everlasting  ages,  or  what  new  dis- 
plays of  God's  power  and  glory  they  will  witness  in 


The  Knowledge   of  God.  151 

each  of  them?  Oh,  what  a  mighty  range,  what  a 
vast  duration,  what  advantages  for  increasing  in  the 
knowledge  of  God ;  of  studying  his  adorable  cha- 
racter in  the  garnished  heavens,  and  through  the 
endless  cycles  of  his  governmental  rule  !  But  that 
which  the  redeemed  will  study  with  the  most  intense 
interest ;  that  which  will  ravish  their  souls  beyond 
all  other  knowledge,  is  the  great  mystery  of  godli- 
ness— God  manifest  in  the  flesh.  Whatever  else 
may  occupy  their  minds,  this  theme  will  ever  be 
uppermost.  The  glory  of  Christ  will  eclipse  all 
other  glories.  The  knowledge  of  God  in  Christ 
will,  as  it  were,  swallow  up  all  other  knowledge. 
Wherever  sent,  in  whatever  ministrations  employed, 
their  thoughts  will  not  for  a  moment  be  withdrawn 
from  him. 

"And  if,  as  we  have  reason  to  believe,  other 
worlds  and  orders  of  beings  are,  in  ways  unknown 
to  us,  deeply  interested  in  the  work  of  redemption, 
how  much  wider  views  may  be  opened  to  the  ador- 
ing contemplation  of  the  general  assembly  and 
Church  of  the  first-born  !  We  can  hardly  suppose 
that  angels  and  men  are  the  only  beings  in  the 
universe  who  desire  to  look  into  this  mystery  of 
mysteries.  Moreover,  who  can  tell  but  that  God 
has  yet  other  attributes  to  display  to  an  admiring 
universe  beside  those  which  have  been  already  un- 


152  Hcman   Humphrey. 

folded?  His  justice  and  mercy  were  both  kept  con- 
cealed from  eternity  till  the  fall  of  angels  and  men 
brought  them  out ;  and  I  ask  again,  who  can  tell 
what  other  attributes  may  be  disclosed  to  an  adoring 
universe  as  eternal  ages  roll  on?  Oh,  what  un- 
speakable advantages  will  the  righteous  enjoy  for 
increasing  in  the  knowledge  of  God  as  long  as  God 
himself  shall  exist  to  irradiate  the  universe  with  his 
glory  !  How  will  their  faculties  expand  as  the  in- 
effable brightness  is  poured  in  upon  their  minds  ! 
how  fast  will  they  increase  in  the  knowledge  of 
God !  how  will  their  hearts  glow  with  love  !  with 
what  ecstasy,  as  they  rise  from  glory  to  glory 
through  everlasting  ages,  will  they  shout,  '  Unto 
Him  that  loved  us  and  washed  us  from  our  sins  in 
his  own  blood,  and  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests 
unto  God  and  his  Father,  to  him  be  glory  and  do- 
minion for  ever  and  ever !  Amen.'  Oh,  how  will 
they  make  the  arches  ring  with  their  hallelujahs  ! 
Why  cannot  we  hear  the  celestial  chorus?  We 
shall  hear  it  and  join  in  the  innumerable  throng  be- 
fore the  throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb,  if  we  are 
washed  in  the  same  atoning  blood." 

What  thoughts  are  these  to  carry  with  one 
through  the  sunset,  whose  fading  glories  may  well 
be  left  behind  without  a  sigh  ! 

In  thus  describing  Dr.  Humphrey  as  a  preacher, 


The  Educator.  153 

we  have  rendered  it  unnecessary  to  speak  of  him  as 
a  theologian.  He  was  deeply  interested  in  all  the 
theological  controversies  of  the  time.  How  notable 
and  how  warm  those  controversies  were,  will  appear 
to  any  one  who  recalls  the  Unitarian  discussion 
whose  centre  was  Boston,  and  whose  principal  cham- 
pions on  the  side  of  Orthodoxy  were  Dr.  Griffin, 
Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  and  Dr.  Leonard  Woods ; 
the  New  Haven  controversy  which  centred  about 
Dr.  N.  W.  Taylor ;  and  the  discussion  occasioned 
by  the  revival  movements  of  Dr.  Nettleton  on  the 
one  side,  and  Pres.  Finney  on  the  other.  In  these 
controversies  Dr.  Humphrey  played  no  mean  part. 
On  what  side  his  lance  was  couched  may  be  gath- 
ered from  our  statement  of  his  views.  The  conflicts 
are  now  over ;  their  dust  is  blown  out  of  the  hori- 
zon ;  most  of  their  principal  contestants  are  gone 
where  men  see  eye  to  eye.  Their  results  indeed 
remain,  but  we  will  not  attempt  to  record  the  history 
of  the  struggle. 

THE  EDUCATOR. 

Wide  and  deep  as  was  Dr.  Humphrey's  influence 
in  the  pulpit,  the  great  work  of  his  life  was  that  of 
the  educator.  We  have  seen  how  the  tastes  formed 
in  the  obscure  school  districts  of  his  native  county 
abode  with  him,  impelled  him  to  the  teacher's  work 


154  Heman   Humphrey. 

while  in  college,  led  him  to  interest  himself  in  the 
public  schools  of  his  two  parishes,  and  finally  ob- 
tained their  full  development  and  exercise  in  the 
office  of  President.  The  theme  of  education  in  the 
home,  in  the  school,  in  the  academy,  in  the  college, 
was  ever  present  in  his  mind.  He  wrote  many 
sermons  on  the  subject.  He  delivered  many  ad 
dresses  in  State  and  County  Educational  Conven- 
tions. The  atmosphere  of  such  conventions  was 
congenial  to  his  spirit.  While  breathing  it,  old 
memories  were  sure  to  wake,  and  his  thoughts  were 
ever  near  his  lips.  Very  touching  are  these  words 
from  the  opening  of  an  address  before  a  Convention 
of  Teachers,  held  in  Hartford,  November  10,  1830 : 

"I  congratulate  myself  on  being  permitted  this  day 
to  meet,  and  to  exchange  salutations  with  so  many 
zealous  and  enlightened  friends  of  education  from 
every  part  of  Connecticut.  And  it  greatly  heightens 
the  pleasure  of  these  greetings  that  I  appear  among 
you,  not  as  a  stranger,  but  as  a  native-born  citizen. 
You  will  believe  me  when  I  say  that  the  objects  of 
this  convention  and  the  presence  of  early  friends 
and  associates,  awaken  in  my  breast  recollections 
and  feelings  which  I  love  to  cherish. 

"Memory,  that  mysterious  chronicler  of  bygone 
years,  carries  me  back  with  the  swiftness  of  thought 
to  the  period  when  the  '  dew  of  youth'  lay  fresh 


His   Educational    Tastes.  155 

upon  my  buoyant  spirits ;  and  when,  in  a  humbler 
sphere,  I  first  assumed  the  responsibilities  of  a  school- 
master. Time  and  space  for  a  moment  seem  to  be 
annihilated.  I  am  again  in  the  very  house  where 
first  I  met  the  bright  and  inquisitive  glance  of  twenty 
scholars.  I  look  out,  and  the  same  snow  covers  the 
hills.  I  look  up,  and  the  same  winter  clouds  are 
hurrying  through  the  skies.  I  listen  again,  as  I  did 
thirty  years  ago,  to  the  oracular  voices  of  old  and 
experienced  teachers ;  and  I  feel  again  the  stirring 
of  the  same  young  enthusiasm  which  then  glowed 
in  my  bosom.  I  forget  that  with  me  the  warm 
spring  of  life  is  so  long  past,  and -that  autumn  is 
even  now  sprinkling  its  flakes  upon  a  spot  so  bleak 
that  it  cannot  retain  them.  Those  fine  chords  so 
long  untouched,  which  once  bound  the  heart  to  the 
village-school,  again  vibrate  and  pour  their  harmony 
into  its  secret  audience,  bringing  me  into  near  and 
delightful  fellowship  with  all  the  friends  of  popular 
education  throughout  the  land." 

Of  his  ideas  as  an  educator  but  little  need  be  said 
to  those  who  have  read  the  foregoing  pages.  Chris- 
tianity was  the  base  and  the  animating  principle  of 
them  all.  He  would  educate  the  country  for  the 
sake  of  Christ  and  of  the  world. 

When  he  assumed  the  Presidency  of  Amherst 
College,  he  felt  that  if  profound  and  varied  learning 


156  Heman   Humphrey. 

were  the  great  requisite,  then  he  was  unfitted  for  the 
post.  But  he  saw  that  something  more  than  this 
was  needed ;  and  he  dared  not  resist  the  verdict 
which  decided  that  he  was  the  choice  of  Providence. 
How  he  struggled  in  fulfilling  his  duties,  how  he 
succeeded,  we  have  already  told.  Let  another  wit- 
ness speak  in  words  stronger  than  we  have  ventured 
to  use.  Again  we  quote  from  the  funeral  sermon  : 

"Few  men  could,  or  would  have  toiled  on,  year 
after  year,  as  he  did.  Slowly  the  walls  went  up — 
as  did  the  walls  of  Jerusalem  under  Nehemiah  ;  and 
after  a  toil  of  twenty-two  years — a  toil  that  seldom 
has  a  parallel — and  without  stopping  an  hour,  save 
once  to  hasten  across  the  Atlantic  when  worn  down 
and  ready  to  perish,  he  came  to  the  place  where  he 
must  stop.  Loving  labor  more  than  food,  and 
loving  his  College  with  the  love  of  a  father,  he  saw 
that  it  was  the  will  of  God  that  he  should  now  lay 
down  the  burden  and  retire.  It  then  seemed  as  if 
he  could  never  rally,  and  that  he  must  die  soon. 
What  had  he  done?  He  had  gathered  around  him 
a  noble  Faculty  of  teachers ;  he  had  raised  new 
buildings  as  fast  as  needed ;  he  had  gathered 
around  the  College  the  confidence  and  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  Christian  community  ;  he  had  gathered 
funds  and  friends  that  would  sustain  the  institution 
in  full  vigor ;  he  had  placed  it  among  the  brightest 


Amhcrst    College.  157 

luminaries  of  the  land  ;  he  had  got  it  incorporated 
and  made  it  to  be  respected  ;  he  had  superintended 
the  education  and  seen  graduate  under  his  own  eye 
795  }'oung  men,  sent  out  to  leave  their  mark  upon 
the  world,  of  whom  430  he  saw  become  ministers 
of  the  gospel,  and  of  these  84  are  numbered  as  pas- 
tors in  Massachusetts  at  this  hour,  and  39  were  sent 
abroad  as  missionaries  of  the  cross.  Sixty-eight  of 
these  young  ministers  have  passed  away,  and  were 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river  to  welcome  their  be- 
loved instructor.  Some  of  them  were  bright  and 
shining  lights.  He,  being  dead,  yet  liveth  and 
speaketh  through  all  these — and  they,  to  tens  of 
thousands — and  onward  and  downward  the  influ- 
ences roll  to  the  end  of  time.  What  the  results  are 
and  will  be  in  this  world,  no  tongue  can  tell ;  nor 
will  they  cease  for  ever.  The  hallowed  influences 
which  have  been  impressed  upon  other  minds  and 
hearts  are  so  many  cords  of  love  and  mercy  which 
remain  to  draw  souls  to  Christ.  And  many  a  poor 
boy,  and  many  a  poor  schoolmaster,  will  grow 
strong  and  be  lighted  up  in  hope  and  courage,  as 
he  tries  to  prepare  himself  for  usefulness,  by  know- 
ing that  the  great  and  the  good  Heman  Humphrey 
was  once  a  poor  boy  and  a  poor  schoolmaster,  urg- 
ing his  way  up  to  one  of  the  highest  posts  of  useful- 
ness in  the  land  !" 

14 


158  Heman   Humphrey. 

Had  he  accomplished  no  other  work  than  this,  he 
would  have  gone  down  to  an  honored  grave. 

He  never  lost  his  interest  in  the  College.  He 
had  loved  the  faithful  instructors  who  wrought  with 
him  in  his  work,  he  had  loved  the  very  walls  of  the 
buildings  which  grew  up  under  his  administration. 
He  delighted  in  nothing  more  than  to  revisit  the  in- 
stitution, to  review  the  past  with  those  who  had 
been  his  fellow-workers,  and  to  congratulate  his 
successors  upon  the  prosperity  of  the  College  under 
their  hands.  He  was  grateful  for  the  cordiality 
with  which  he  was  always  received,  and  never 
ceased  to  pray  for  and  to  rejoice  in  the  growth  of 
the  institution. 

Much  might  be  said  of  the  influence  he  exerted  in 
moulding  the  Common-school  system  of  Massachu- 
setts. He  believed  that  the  college  sent  some  of  its 
roots  down  into  the  common  schools  ;  and  for  its 
sake  he  would  have  these  lower  seminaries  as  per- 
fect as  possible  ;  for  its  sake  he  manfully  contended 
for  the  use  of  the  Bible  in  those  schools  when  a 
persistent  effort  was  made  to  exclude  it ;  for  the 
sake  of  the  college,  but  not  less  for  the  sake  of  the 
State  and  of  the  Land. 


His   Philanthropy.  159 

THE   PHILANTHROPIST. 

Dr.  Humphrey  wrote  high  on  his  list  of  maxims 
that  old  Latin  sentiment,  Homo  sum,  etc.  He  was 
in  the  highest  sense  a  humanitarian  ;  not  the  less, 
but  the  more,  because  he  held  so  tenaciously  to 
an  orthodox  theology.  No  mistake  is  greater  than 
that  a  man  must  cease  to  care  for  the  temporal  inter- 
ests of  his  fellows  in  proportion  as  he  seeks  the  sal- 
vation of  their  souls.  His  labors  in  behalf  of  tem- 
perance were  not  intermitted  until  the  temperance 
reformation  was  fully  established.  One  of  his  most 
vigorous  discourses  was  an  address,  delivered  to  the 
students  of  Amherst  College,  July  4,  1828,  the  sub- 
ject being  a  Parallel  between  Intemperance  and  the 
Slave  Trade.  This  address  was  printed,  attained  a 
wide  circulation,  and — like  Dr.  Marsh's  "  Putman 
and  the  Wolf" — was  extensively  useful. 

His  sympathy  for  the  slave  was  quick  and  strong. 
He  was  never  an  Abolitionist,  in  the  technical  sense 
of  that  term.  He  fully  believed,  up  to  the  period 
of  the  civil  war,  that  the  American  Colonization 
Society  presented  the  most  hopeful  means  for  the 
mitigation,  and  perhaps  for  the  ultimate  removal,  of 
the  blight  and  the  wrongs  of  American  slavery. 
Yet,  while  recognizing  the  constitutional  difficulties 
which  embarrassed  political  action  in  this  matter,  he 


160  Heman   Humphrey. 

looked  with  favor  upon  all  schemes  which  promised 
a  gradual  emancipation.  He  strenuously  opposed 
all  extension  of  the  area  of  slavery  by  governmental 
action.  When,  in  1854,  tne  "Missouri  Compro- 
mise," which  declared  that  from  all  territory  "  pur- 
chased of  France,  lying  north  of  36  deg.  30  min., 
slavery  and  involuntary  servitude,  otherwise  than  in 
the  punishment  of  crimes,  shall  be,  and  is  hereby 
for  ever  prohibited,"  was  threatened  by  the  "Ne- 
braska Bill,"  his  blood  was  stirred.  He  delivered 
an  address  on  the  subject  before  the  citizens  of  Pitts- 
field,  in  the  Baptist  Church,  on  Sunday  evening, 
February  26,  which  was  characterized  by  all  his 
youthful  fire.  The  repeal  of  this  Compromise 
seemed  to  him  so  gross  a  violation  of  the  public 
faith,  that  he  could  not  restrain  his  indignant  pro- 
test. It  was  to  him  like  one  of  the  vital  questions 
of  the  Revolution.  And,  as  the  ministers  of  1776 
were  impelled  to  speak,  so  he  thought  those  of  1854 
should  keep  not  silence. 

"What  if,"  said  he  in  his  sermon,  "that  vener- 
able man  of  God,  Rev.  Thomas  Allen,  who  sleeps 
in  yonder  tomb,  could  be  waked  up,  and  have  the 
Nebraska  Bill  with  its  black  section  put  into  his 
hand — what  would  HE  say?  I  declare  to  you,  I 
would  not  for  any  price  go  and  knock  at  the  door 
of  that  tomb,  if  I  knew  that  I  would  bring  him  up, 


The   Nebraska   Bill,  161 

except  it  were  in  the  last  extremity  of  expiring 
liberty,  that  he  might  again  buckle  on  his  armor  and 
march  up  to  the  cannon's  mouth.  No ;  let  him 
sleep,  and  never  till  the  day  of  judgment  know  any- 
thing of  the  atrocious  conspiracy  which  has  been 
concocted  this  winter  at  the  seat  of  Government !" 

It  is  well  known  that  the  Nebraska  Bill  was 
among  the  beginnings  of  the  end ;  that,  in  the 
providence  of  God,  the  whole  question  of  slavery 
was  solved  by  the  war  which  in  a  few  years  fol- 
lowed ;  that  Mr.  Douglas  himself,  the  great  advocate 
of  the  repeal  of  the  Compromise,  became  one  of  the 
instruments  by  which  the  power  and  the  existence 
of  slavery  were  for  ever  destroyed  in  the  United 
States.  The  burning  words  which  Dr.  Humphrey 
again  poured  out  in  Pittsfield  when  the  first  gun 
had  been  fired  upon  Fort  Sumter  were  those  of  one 
who  loved  his  country,  and  hated  that  system  which, 
through  the  precipitancy  of  its  advocates,  was 
hastening  to  its  end. 

The  same  feeling  which  made  him  the  friend  of 
the  slave,  made  him  the  friend  of  all  the  oppressed. 
In  1829  he  delivered  an  address  in  Amherst,  Hart- 
ford, and  other  places,  on  "  Indian  Rights  and  our 
Duties."  It  was  occasioned  by  the  forcible  expul- 
sion of  the  Indians,  "in  violation  of  a  score  of 
treaties,"  to  the  western  bank  of  the  Mississippi. 
H*  •  L 


162  Heman   Humphrey. 

"I  could  not  help  remonstrating  with  all  the 
power  I  had.  I  said  then,  and  I  say  now,  that  I 
would  rather  receive  the  blessing  of  one  poor  In- 
dian, as  he  looks  back  for  the  last  time  on  the 
graves  of  his  fathers,  than  to  sleep  under  the  marble 
of  all  the  Caesars." 

He  was  also  an  early  and  an  enthusiastic  sup- 
porter of  Christian  Missions.  He  enjoyed  the  honor 
of  preaching  the  sermon  at  the  ordination  of  the  first 
missionaries  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  to  the  Sand- 
wich Islands — Rev.  Hiram  Bingham  and  Rev.  Asa 
Thurston.  The  service  was  held  at  Goshen,  Con- 
necticut, September  29,  1819.  He  was  identified 
with  almost  every  prominent  organization  in  his 
day  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel.  He  was  inter- 
ested in  Asylums  and  Retreats  for  the  unfortunate. 
He  sought  the  mitigation  of  unnecessary  discipline 
in  Prisons  and  Penitentiaries.  A  sermon  preached 
in  Pittsfield,  on  the  day  of  the  Annual  Fast,  April 
4,  1818,  upon  "  Doing  Good  to  the  Poor,"  shows 
how  great  his  compassion  for  this  class  of  society 
whom  "we  have  ever  with  us,"  and  how  just  his 
discrimination  in  affording  them  a  needed  relief. 

THE  AUTHOR. 

Dr.  Humphrey  wielded  a  facile  and  unwearied 
pen.  From  the  time  when  the  educational  essays 


His   Literary   Style.  163 

of  Lictor  appeared  in  a  New  Haven  journal,  he 
made  frequent  use  of  the  press.  After  the  struggles 
incident  to  the  founding  of  Amherst  College  were 
over,  he  was  in  almost  constant  communication  with 
the  public,  by  type  as  well  as  by  tongue.  His  style 
as  a  writer  was  simple  and  direct.  "  First  clear- 
ness, then  force,"  was  his  maxim.  His  sentences 
were  like  crystal  lenses  rather  than  like  pictured 
windows.  Yet,  when  occasion  served,  he  was 
graphic  in  description  or  eloquent  in  thought.  His 
writings  commended  themselves,  however,  more  by 
the  ideas  they  conveyed  than  by  the  rhetoric  with 
which  they  were  adorned.  Some  one  compares  the 
style  of  John  Foster  to  "  a  lumbering  wagon  filled 
with  gold."  The  comparison  would  not  describe 
the  style  of  Dr.  Humphrey,  even  in  his  more  negli- 
gent moods.  Yet  it  may  be  truly  said  that  he  was 
more  solicitous  to  have  the  gold  in  the  vehicle  than 
to  have  the  vehicle  itself  highly  ornamented.  It 
would  not  be  difficult,  nevertheless,  to  fill  many 
pages  with  extracts  whose  rhetoric  is  as  pure  as 
their  thought  is  valuable.  As  a  writer  for  news- 
papers, he  was  among  the  most  popular  of  the  day. 
Probably  no  letters  from  abroad  have  ever  been 
more  widely  read  than  those  which  he  published  in 
the  New  York  Observer.  His  "  Letters  to  a  Son 
in  the  Ministry,"  first  issued  in  the  columns  of  a 


164  Heman   Humphrey. 

religious  journal,  were  perused  almost  as  eagerly 
by  the  occupants  of  the  pew  as  by  the  occupants  of 
the  pulpit.  His  "Revival  Conversations,"  appear- 
ing first  in  the  New  England  Puritan,  were  read 
with  universal  interest  and  profit.  The  demand  for 
each  of  these  serial  issues  was  only  satisfied  by  their 
collection  in  permanent  form.  The  same  also  may 
be  said  of  his  "Letters  on  Domestic  Education." 
His  miscellaneous  contributions  to  the  periodical 
press  would  fill  many  volumes.  What  he  wrote 
may  not  go  into  the  permanent  literature  of  the 
land,  except  by  indirection.  It  was  enough  for  him 
to  reach  and  influence  the  minds  of  thousands  while 
he  lived. 

Among  the  most  important  of  his  published  ser- 
mons and  addresses  are — 

1.  Sermon  before  the  Moral  Society  of  Connecti- 
cut.    New  Haven,  1815. 

2.  Sermon  "On  Doing  Good  to  the  Poor."   Pitts- 
field,  1818. 

3.  Sermon  before  the  Berkshire  County  Educa- 
tion Society.     Lenox,  1818. 

4.  Sermon  at  the  Ordination  of  the  Missionaries 
destined  to  the  Sandwich  Islands.     Boston,  1819. 

5.  Address   commemorative  of  the    Landing  of 
the  Pilgrims.     Pittsfield,  1820.     Second  Centennial 
Anniversary. 


Sermons   and  Addresses.  165 

6.  Address    at   his    Inauguration    as    President. 
Amherst,  1823. 

7.  Sermon   before   the    Pastoral    Association    of 
Massachusetts.    "The  Good  Pastor."   Boston,  1826. 

8.  Sermon   at  the   Dedication   of  the   Chapel   at 
Amherst  College,  1827. 

9.  Address.     "Parallel    between    Intemperance 
and  the  Slave  Trade."     Amherst,  1828. 

10.  Sermon  on  "  Indian  Rights  and  our  Duties." 
Amherst,  1829. 

11.  Massachusetts    Convention    Sermon.     "The 
Kingdom  of  Christ."     Boston,  1830. 

12.  Address  before  Teachers'  Convention.     Hart- 
ford, 1830. 

13.  Sermon  before  the  American  Sunday-School 
Union.     Philadelphia,  1831. 

14.  Sermon  at  the  Funeral  of  Nathaniel  Smith, 
Esq.,  of  Sunderland.      "The    Good  Arimathean." 
Amherst,  1833. 

15.  Sermon  before  the  Students  of  Amherst  Col- 
lege.    "  A  Glorious  Enterprise."     Amherst,  1834. 

16.  Sermon  on  the  Sixth  Commandment.    "Duel- 
ing."    Amherst,  1838. 

17.  The   Bible  in  Public   Schools.     "American 
Institute."     1843. 

18.  Valedictory  Address  on    leaving   the  Presi- 
dency.    Amherst,  1845. 


1 66  Hcman   Humphrey. 

19.  Address  at  the  opening  of  a  Normal  School- 
house,  Westfield,  Massachusetts.     Boston,  1846. 

20.  Tribute  to  the  Memory  of  Rev.  Nathan  W. 
Fiske,  Professor.     Amherst,  1848. 

21.  Sermon  at  the  Funeral  of  Miss  Mary  Lyon, 
South  Hadley.     "  The  Shining  Path."     Northamp- 
ton, 1849. 

22.  "The     Missouri     Compromise."      Pittsfield, 
1854. 

23.  Sermon  on  the  Day  of  National  Fast.     Pitts- 
field,  1861. 

His  published  works,  in  volumes,  are  : 

1.  Prize  Essays  on  the  Sabbath.     1830. 

2.  Miscellaneous  Discourses  and  Reviews.     1834. 

3.  Christian  Memoirs.     1836. 

4.  Tour  in  France,  Great  Britain  and  Belgium, 
2  vols.     1838. 

5.  Domestic  Education.     1840. 

6.  Revival  Conversations.     1844. 

7.  Letters  to  a  Son  in  the  Ministry.     1845. 

8.  Life   and   Writings   of    Prof.    N.    W.    Fiske. 
1850. 

9.  Life  and  Writings  of  Rev.  T.  H.  Gallaudet. 

1857- 

10.  Sketches  of  the  History  of  Revivals.     1859. 

He  also  wrote  numerous    articles  for   Religious 
Reviews    and    monthly    periodicals.      His    earlier 


As   Father   and  Friend.  167 

papers  of  this  description  appeared  in  the  Panoplist 
and  the  Christian  Spectator. 

"As  an  author,"  says  Dr.  Sprague,  "he  has 
commanded  high  respect  on  both  sides  of  the  At- 
lantic ;  his  works  are  all  characterized  by  that 
sobriety,  transparency  and  richness  of  thought, 
and  that  simplicity  and  purity  of  style,  that  are 
fitted  to  secure  for  them  an  enduring  posthumous 
usefulness." 

To  render  our  analysis  complete,  we  should  speak 
of  Dr.  Humphrey  in  his  domestic  relations  and  in 
his  character  as  a  friend.  Let  it  suffice  to  say,  that 
he  was  as  evenly  balanced  in  his  most  private  life  as 
in  the  recitation-room,  the  pulpit  or  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal council.  His  "unbending"  was  never  so  abso- 
lute as  that  of  some  strong  natures ;  but  especially 
in  the  twenty  last  years  of  his  life,  he  was  a  most 
genial  companion  in  the  household  or  in  general 
society.  A  popular  preacher  discourses  upon  the 
different  shadows  men  cast.  Acts  v.  15.  Dr.  Hum- 
phrey's shadow  was  always  pleasant,  and  oftentimes  a 
soothing  one,  if  not,  like  St.  Peter's,  full  of  healing. 
"  Shadow"  is  another  term  for  what  is  sometimes 
described  as  "atmosphere."  Dr.  Humphrey's  at- 
mosphere was  warm,  yet  brisk.  If  it  was  not  as 
full  of  magnetic  attractions  as  that  of  some  men,  it 
was  not  as  full  of  repulsions  as  that  of  some  others. 


1 68  Heman   Humphrey. 

Every  one,  in  fact,  enjoyed  his  society.  The  stranger 
found,  in  a  little  while,  that  Dr.  Humphrey  had  nu- 
merous points  of  contact  with  all  about  him.  If  he 
was  never  so  young  as  to  be  charged  with  foolish- 
ness, he  was  never  so  old  as  to  be  out  of  sympathy 
with  those  of  freshest  life.  He  became  more  and 
more  genial  with  advancing  years.  To  visit  his 
children  and  to  gather  them  and  their  children 
about  him  was  one  of  his  highest  pleasures. 

His  family  was  large,  but  had  been  many  times 
broken  in  upon  by  death.  Our  parents  had  ten 
children.  Edward,  James,  Sophia  and  John,  were 
born  in  Fairfield ;  Lucy,  the  first  Mary,  and  Henry 
Martin,  in  Fairfield ;  Zephaniah,  the  second  Mary, 
and  Sarah,  in  Amherst.  But  four  of  the  ten  are 
now  surviving.  The  first  Mary,  Sophia  and  Henry, 
were  buried  in  Amherst.  John  sleeps  in  Pittsfield, 
James  in  Brooklyn,  and  Mary  in  Honesdale,  Penn- 
sylvania. 

The  dying  sire  has  left  behind  him  no  ancestral 
wealth,  but  he  carried  with  him  into  the  other 
world  that  which  "  cannot  be  gotten  for  gold,  nei- 
ther shall  silver  be  weighed  for  the  price  thereof." 
He  has  left  none  of  the  reputation  of  a  great  dis- 
coverer, but  he  learned  that  of  which  "the  depth 
saith,  It  is  not  in  me ;  and  the  sea  saith,  It  is  not  in 
me."  His  choicest  bequest  to  us  is  that  "  good 


The  End.  169 

name  which  is  rather  to  be  chosen  than  great 
riches,"  and  that  memory  of  the  just  which  is 
blessed. 

Z.  M.  H. 

PHILADELPHIA,  April,  1869. 
15 


MRS.   SOPHIA  HUMPHREY. 


TO  THE  CHILDREN'S  CHILDREN 


MRS.    SOPHIA    HUMPHREY, 


AT  the  close  of  one  of  the  bright  days  of  the 
month  of  October,  1807,  a  young  lady  could  be 
seen  in  the  town  of  Farmington,  Connecticut,  stand- 
ing at  the  front  door  of  the  house  adjoining  that  now 
occupied  by  the  wife  and  daughters  of  the  late  Rev. 
Noah  Porter ;  and  looking,  as  she  wrote  in  one  of 
her  letters,  at  "  the  serene  and  solemn  beauty  dis- 
played in  the  Creator's  works." 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  quality  which 
on  that  evening  revealed  itself  to  her  with  unwonted 
vividness,  as  investing  the  objects  of  Nature,  had  for 
many  years  dwelt  in  every  chamber  of  her  mind, 
and  even  given  attractiveness  to  her  person.  Her 
form  was  one  of  unusual  symmetry.  She  was  tall, 
erect,  well-proportioned.  Her  movement  was  grace- 
ful, and  had  withal  a  gentle  dignity.  The  features 
of  her  face,  with  only  a  glimmer  however  of  their 
pleasing  expression,  can  still  be  seen  in  the  photo- 

15*  173 


174  Mrs.    Sophia   Humphrey. 

graphs  you  have,  taken  when  she  was  about  seventy- 
six  years  of  age.  This  young  lady  was  Miss  Sophia 
Porter,  the  daughter  of  Noah  and  Rachel  Merrill 
Porter,  "the  descendants  of  ancestors  who  had  lived 
in  the  Farmington  Valley  since  1652."  Mr.  Porter 
had  recently  sold  his  farm  and  landed  estate,  and 
purchased  a  house  in  the  village,  and  moved  into 
it,  that  he  might  pass  his  remaining  years  with  not 
less  usefulness,  and  in  more  tranquil  enjoyment  of 
the  mercies  which  God  had  conferred  upon  him. 
He  had  three  sons  and  two  daughters :  Edward, 
a  minister  and  teacher ;  Robert,  a  judge  in  New 
York ;  and  Noah,  for  sixty  years  the  minister  of 
Farmington.  The  second  daughter  and  youngest 
child  was  your  grandmother,  born  December  27, 
1785.  And  it  is  from  her  diary  and  compositions 
written  at  school,  and  from  her  letters  to  her  friends 
and  to  Mr.  Heman  Humphrey,  then  a  young  minister 
at  Fairfield,  that  we  get  the  first  glimpse  of  the  dis- 
interested nature,  the  tender  affection,  the  scrupulous 
integrity,  the  discerning  and  well-balanced  mind, 
and  the  desire  to  honor  God,  which  characterized 
her  entire  life. 

None  who  knew  your  grandmother  had  ever  a 
doubt  that,  whatever  it  was  that  prompted  her  con- 
stant and  sustained  activity,  it  was  nothing  that 
terminated  upon  herself.  She  never  thought  of 


Her   Life   and    Character.  175 

herself.  And  it  was  this  self-obliviousness  that  gave 
that  charming  simplicity  and  grace  to  her  manners, 
and  that  real  affectionateness  to  her  heart,  which 
distinguished  her.  Endowed  with  what  would  be 
called  in  these  days  a  vigorous  intellect  and  a 
sound  judgment,  yet  she  never  regarded  these  as 
worthy  of  taking  the  leading  place  in  the  conduct 
of  her  social,  domestic  or  religious  life.  In  a  letter 
written  to  a  very  dear  friend,  in  December,  1807, 
about  three  months  before  her  marriage,  she  says, 
after  alluding  to  the  conflict  between  the  Rev.  John 
Newton's  head  and  heart,  "  I  have  also  a  contro- 
versy between  my  head  and  heart,  or  at  least  they 
are  each  of  them  determined  to  take  all  the  merit  to 
themselves.  Head  insists  that  the  perpetuity  of 
affection  depends  entirely  on  the  observance  of  ex- 
ternal duties ;  and  of  course  that  these  must  be  the 
foundation  of  happiness.  This  I  think  is  plausible. 
On  the  other  hand,  heart  is  decided  in  the  opinion 
that  duty  will  be  more  strictly  performed,  and  hap- 
piness better  insured,  by  a  conduct  influenced  by 
real  disinterested  affection,  than  that  constrained 
by  any  set  of  rules." 

The  sentiment  expressed  in  these  lines  took  such 
possession  of  her  in  the  bloom  of  life  that  it  never 
left  her.  To  every  minor  act  of  her  after  days  it 
gave  direction  and  beauty.  Whether  in  bidding  wel- 


176  Mrs.    Sophia   Humphrey. 

come  to  a  stranger,  or  in  preparing  for  a  guest 
what  her  husband  called  in  patriarchal  language 
"savory  meat,"  that  same  desire  to  make  some 
one  a  little  happier  animated  her  face  and  moved 
her  hand.  Neither  age,  nor  deafness,  nor  change 
of  place,  could  diminish  the  strength  of  this  habit  of 
mind.  What  came  forth  in  the  letters  and  glowed 
in  the  heart  of  the  maiden  at  Farmington,  and 
burned  as  a  flame  at  Fairfield,  lost  none  of 
its  intensity  at  Pittsfield  or  at  Amherst.  Widening 
the  sphere  of  her  usefulness  could  neither  diminish 
the  strength  nor  alloy  the  quality  of  her  self-ab- 
negating spirit.  After  her  return  to  Pittsfield, 
although  the  almond  tree  had  begun  to  blossom, 
and  her  years  were  approaching  fourscore  and 
three,  the  passion  of  her  heart  still  lived  and 
wrought,  ' '  burning  brightly  amidst  the  frosts  of 
age."  Even  during  her  last  sickness,  in  her  days 
of  extreme  weakness,  when  not  only  the  silver  cord 
began  to  loosen,  but  the  golden  bowl  to  break,  she 
did  not  ceasey  to  inquire  after  the  comfort  of  what- 
ever had  been  near  her.  "Have  you  fed  the  bird?" 
she  would  say,  as  one  daughter  looked  into  her  face. 
"I  was  afraid  you  had  not."  "  Have  you  kept  any- 
thing for  her?"  as  she  thought  of  her  grandchild  re- 
turning from  school.  And  on  the  very  last  day  of 
her  life,  when  every  sound  was  brought  low  unto 


Her   Life   and    Character.  177 

sobbing,  she  would  place  her  hand  in  those  of  her 
daughters  and  say,  "  Take  care  of  yourselves,  don't 
mind  me." 

This  forgetfulness  of  herself  made  her  value  at 
far  less  than  their  real  worth  her  own  powers  and 
acquisitions.  Whilst  she  never  ceased  to  exercise 
her  rare  capacity  for  discriminating  between  the 
false  and  the  true,  the  superficial  and  the  substan- 
tial ;  and  did  not  hesitate  to  express,  in  remarkably 
appropriate  phrase,  her  opinion  when  asked  for  it; 
yet  when  in  the  presence  of  any  who  occupied  or 
claimed  positions  of  usefulness,  she  was  disposed  to 
sit  at  their  feet. 

She  not  only  did  not  assume  anything,  but  she 
was  pained  at  receiving  the  marks  of  deference  in- 
voluntarily manifested  toward  her.  "You  need  a 
word  of  caution,"  she  wrote  to  one  whose  regard  for 
her  was  profound ;  "do  not  rate  me  too  highly ;  I 
fear  you  will  be  disappointed."  Thus  was  she  at 
the  beginning  of  life,  and  thus  at  the  end.  This 
desire  not  to  be  overvalued  made  her  perfectly- 
transparent.  She  could  not  affect  anything.  She 
shrank  from  exaggeration  as  from  a  falsehood. 
When  addressed  in  words  of  admiration  she  would 
write,  "  I  cannot  consider  these  words  as  addressed 
to  me,  as  I  am  by  no  means  deserving  of  the  appella- 
tions. Convinced  as  I  am  that  adulation  was  not 

M 


178  Mrs.    Sophia   Humphrey. 

your  design,  yet  so  far  as  an  expression  has  this 
appearance,  so  far  it  will  never  be  pleasing  to  your 
friend." 

Do  not  think,  however,  that  because  of  this  indis- 
position to  press  her  personality  out  and  make  it 
felt,  that  she  was  without  character.  Far  from  it. 
Every  step  she  took,  every  plan  she  formed,  every 
child  she  encouraged,  every  beggar  she  relieved, 
every  sick  person  she  remembered,  every  store- 
keeper with  whom  she  dealt,  can  attest  that  under 
that  quiet  and  genial  face,  and  within  that  unobtru- 
sive form,  there  dwelt  deep  feeling  and  outspoken 
honesty.  No  emotion  of  her  nature  was  cold.  She 
could  become  impassioned  when  off  her  guard  ;  nor 
was  she  always  unwilling  to  let  persons  know  that 
they  must  not  attempt  to  impose  upon  her.  For  her 
husband  and  her  children  she  laid  out  her  strength 
and  thoughts  with  a  prodigality  ceaseless  and  un- 
measured. She  could  not  do  too  much  for  them, 
and  found  ample  reward  in  her  freely-given  toil  and 
their  love.  Had  it  not  been  for  her  inborn  sound- 
ness of  judgment,  she  would  have  erred  on  the  side 
of  an  unrestrained  abandonment  of  herself  to  the 
comfort  of  her  family.  But  her  regard  for  their 
usefulness  and  her  instinctive  good  sense  would  not 
let  her  forget  that  to  be  right  is  more  than  to  be 
happy.  And  her  reason  came  to  the  help  of  her 


Her   Life   and    Character.  179 

energy  and  love,  and  thus  she  did  for  them  the  most 
that  she  could,  temporally  and  spiritually.  And  in 
the  circumstances  in  which  she  was  placed  at  Fair- 
field,  at  Pittsfield  and  at  Amherst,  this  was  no  light 
task.  To  shield  ten  children  from  temptation,  to 
foster  in  them  elevated  aspirations,  to  constrain  them 
to  industry,  and  to  keep  the  wolf  from  barking  too 
loudly  at  the  door,  required  no  little  administrative 
talent  and  skill.  And  yet,  by  reason  of  her  hus- 
band's necessary  absorption  in  public  labors,  these 
burdens  she  took  upon  herself  and  carried  them 
cheerfully.  Neither  as  a  mother,  nor  as  a  parish- 
minister's  wife,  nor  as  the  sympathizing  friend  of 
young  men,  nor  in  the  entertainment  of  strangers, 
especially  during  those  twenty-three  years  that  the 
College  occupied  her  thoughts  and  those  of  your 
grandfather,  did  she  fail  nobly  to  do  her  part. 
Common  as  it  may  be  to  quote  the  words  spoken  to 
King  Lemuel,  "  She  riseth  up  while  it  is  yet  night, 
and  giveth  meat  to  her  household.  She  girdeth  her 
loins  with  strength,  and  strengtheneth  her  arms. 
Her  candle  goeth  not  out  by  night ;  she  stretcheth 
out  her  hand  to  the  poor,  yea  she  reacheth  forth  her 
hands  to  the  needy.  Strength  and  honor  are  her 
clothing  ;  and  she  shall  rejoice  in  time  to  come.  She 
openeth  her  mouth  with  wisdom,  and  in  her  tongue 
is  the  law  of  kindness ;"  yet  who  can  read  this  de- 


iSo  Mrs.    Sophia   Humphrey. 

scription  without  thinking  of  her  whose  "children 
now  rise  up  and  call  her  blessed?"  No  one  ever 
doubted  that  your  grandmother  had  intellect,  and  a 
great  deal  of  it,  and  that  it  showed  itself  in  the 
places  where  it  was  most  desirable  that  it  should 
appear — in  her  daily  life  and  in  the  management  of 
her  affairs.  Nor  was  she  without  education- — a 
good  education,  in  the  technical  sense  of  the  word. 
Her  father,  whose  circumstances  were  never  strait- 
ened, and  who  was  himself  fond  of  books,  placed 
her  during  her  childhood  at  the  best  schools  which 
were  to  be  found  in  the  neighborhood,  and  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  sent  her  from  home  to  a  superior  semi- 
nary under  the  supervision  of  her  brother  Edward, 
a  man  of  learning  who  had  relinquished  the  clerical 
profession  in  consequence  of  failing  health  and  the 
loss  of  his  voice.  The  journal  which  she  kept  at 
this  Academy  is  still  with  us,  and  has  in  it  her  com- 
positions, her  abstracts  of  the  sermons  preached  at 
the  church  on  Sunday,  and  such  remarks  on  attire, 
society,  and  nature,  as  a  young  girl  might  be  ex- 
pected to  make.  "Asked  permission  on  Sunday 
to  curl  my  hair ;  had  a  repulse ;  felt  a  little  morti- 
fied ;  did  not  lay  it  to  heart  however,"  appears  on 
the  first  page.  The  exercise  on  manners  enforced 
once  a  week,  occasions  many  piquant  remarks. 
Her  observations  on  some  of  the  young  gentlemen 


Her  Life   and    Character.  181 

to  whom  she  was  introduced,  are  also  made  with 
much  naivete  and  freedom.  She  does  not  forget  to 
write  of  Mr.  B.  :  "By  attempting  to  be  witty  he 
became  very  foolish,  and  even  descended  to  sauci- 
ness."  The  books  which  formed  part  of  her  read- 
ing during  the  period  (which  was  not  very  long) 
covered  by  her  journal,  were  Miss  Hannah  More's 
Works,  Newton's  Letters,  Volney's  Travels  and  the 
History  of  Paul  and  Virginia.  On  Sunday  she  en- 
tertained herself  with  the  Theological  Magazine, 
consisting  of  essays  and  sacred  poetry.  She  also 
read  and  studied  the  Bible,  and  committed  to 
memory  the  Westminster  Assembly's  Catechism. 

If  you  would  like  to  see  one  of  her  compositions, 
here  is  a  part  of  that  on  the  "  Critic's  Vocation  :" 

"True  criticism  is  the  application  of  taste  and 
good  sense  to  the  fine  arts.  The  object  which  it 
proposes  is,  to  distinguish  between  what  is  beautiful 
and  what  is  not.  Critics  who  judge  by  rule,  not  by 
feeling,  are  pedants,  not  critics.  Even  though  the 
public  may  praise,  true  criticism  may  often  with 
reason  condemn. 

"  Taste  and  genius  are  different  things.  Taste  is 
the  power  to  judge,  genius  to  execute.  One  may 
have  a  degree  of  taste  for  the  fine  arts  who  has 
hardly  any  genius  for  composition,  or  for  executing 
those  arts.  But  genius  cannot  be  found  without  in- 

16 


182  Mrs.    Sophia   Humphrey. 

eluding  taste.  Genius  therefore  deserves  to  be  con- 
sidered as  a  higher  power  of  the  mind  than  taste. 
Genius  always  implies  something  inventive  or  cre- 
ative ;  but  taste  rests  in  mere  sensibility  to  beauty 
when  it  is  perceived.  Refined  taste  makes  a  good 
critic,  but  genius  is  necessary  for  a  poet  or  orator. 
Genius  is  a  talent  or  aptitude  which  we  receive  from 
nature  for  excelling  in  any  one  thing."  These 
points  she  afterward  illustrates. 

After  thus  receiving  instruction  at  the  seminary  at 
Waterbury,  and  at  Clinton,  N.  Y.,  she  returned  to 
her  father's  house,  about  eighteen  years  of  age ; 
there  she  enjoyed  the  society  of  her  parents,  and 
that  also  of  her  brother  Noah,  who  was  four  years 
older  than  herself,  a  graduate  of  Yale  College,  the 
valedictorian  of  his  class,  and  at  that  time  studying 
for  the  ministry.  With  this  brother  she  had  much 
intimacy  of  intercourse  and  much  congeniality  of 
spirit.  They  confided  to  each  other  their  most 
sacred  purposes  and  feelings.  They  wrote  on  sim- 
ilar subjects.  But  for  this  friendship,  begun  in 
childhood  and  growing  closer  and  more  precious 
every  year,  and  her  deep  sympathy  with  him  in  his 
pursuits,  you  would  be  surprised  to  learn  that  she 
composed  and  wrote  a  number  of  essays  on  theo- 
logical themes.  They  were  on  such  subjects  as 
The  Being  of  God,  and  how  to  Glorify  Him ;  on  the 


Her   Life   and    Character.  183 

Divinity  of  Christ ;  Justification  by  Faith  ;  Atone- 
ment;  Regeneration,  etc.  Nor  can  it  be  supposed 
that  the  intimacy  between  this  sister  and  brother  was 
diminished  at  all  by  the  fact  that,  as  not  far  from 
this  time  Mr.  Heman  Humphrey  found  that  "the 
town  of  Farmington  had  many  charms,"  especially 
that  portion  of  it  which  contained  your  great  grand- 
father's house  ;  so,  her  brother  was  beginning  to 
discern  that  the  city  of  Middletown  was  not  without 
its  attractions.  Such  was  the  effect  of  one  of  its 
habitations  and  what  it  contained  on  the  young 
Farmington  divine,  that  he  is  constrained  to  write  to 
his  sister  in  the  month  of  May,  and  aver  how 
"  heartily  pleased"  he  is  with  Miss  "  Hetty  Meigs." 

Therefore,  we  say  that  under  the  influence  and 
teaching  of  good  schools,  intelligent  society,  and 
well-instructed  divines,  old  and  young,  your  grand- 
mother was  not  without  some  knowledge  of  the  way 
to  put  out  her  thoughts  and  her  feelings. 

I  will  insert  here  two  of  her  letters  which  I  have 
selected,  not  because  they  fairly  represent  her  epis- 
tolary gifts,  which  were  really  remarkable,  but  be- 
cause of  the  long  interval  between  them — the  one 
having  been  written  in  the  early  morning  and  the 
other  late  in  the  evening  of  her  life.  The  first  is 
dated  December  7,  1795,  when  she  was  ten  years 
of  age  (this  is  given  without  correction),  and  the 


184  Mrs.    Sophia   Humphrey. 

last  was  written  when  she  was  nearly  eighty-three 
years  old,  November  13,  1868,  after  the  death  of 
her  grandson,  James  Humphrey,  Jr.,  and  only  four 
weeks  before  her  own  decease.  These  were  her 
latest  written  words. 

FARMINGTON,  Dec.  7,  1795. 
DEAR  BROTHER : 

I  am  pleased  that  you  have  not  forgotten  me 
in  your  absence  from  home,  but  have  sent  me 
an  agreable  letter  full  of  brotherly  advise,  which 
I  intend  to  mind  ;  and,  indeed,  I  find  no  difficulty 
in  attending  to  that  part  of  your  advise  with  respect 
to  Mr.  Wards  worth,*  for  I  find  him  very  agreable. 
I  think  that  I  learn  to  wright  very  fast,  but  I  fear 
you  will  have  reason  to  think  otherwais  when  you 
se  this  letter.  I  find  that  we  shall  miss  you  at  our 
school,  for  the  boys  have  almost  cut  to  pieces  that 
pegg  that  you  made  in  the  door  to  keep  out  the  cold, 
and  we  want  you  to  make  another.  But  I  hope  you 
will  be  able  to  shew  your  kind  offices  in  that  school 
as  well  as  here.  I  shall  hope  for  another  letter  from 
you.  I  shall  improve  every  opportunity  to  express 
my  regards  for  you. 

Mr.  Noah  Porter. 

*  Her  teacher. 


Her  Life   and    Character.  185 

PlTTSFIELD,    NOV.    13,    1 868. 
MY    VERY    DEAR    URANIA  : 

You  may  be  assured  that  you  and  yours  have 
been  much  in  my  thoughts  in  all  James'  long  and 
painful  sickness.  And  now  that  he  is  gone,  I  would 
express  my  sorrow  and  sympathy  for  your  sore 
bereavement,  though  beyond  my  feeble  words.  I 
feel  devoutly  thankful  that  our  sorrow  is  so  far 
relieved  by  the  consolation  and  hope  that  he  is  now 
in  rest,  rejoicing  in  the  glory  of  God. 

Most  of  our  family  have  gone  before  us ;  but 
thanks  to  a  merciful  God  we  may  trust  that  they 

are  rejoicing  together  in  the  heavenly  world 

I  thank  you  for  the  paper  sent  to  me  giving  an 
account  of  the  funeral,  and  something  of  James' 
character  and  religious  experience.  This  was 
quite  satisfactory  and  comforting.  My  health  and 
strength  I  think  are  slowly  failing.  I  want  very 

much  to  see  you  and  your  dear  family 

With  much  love  and  sympathy  for  you  all,  I  am 
Your  loving  mother, 

SOPHIA  HUMPHREY. 

Thus  far  we  have  said  very  little  about  your 
grandmother's  religious  life. 

As  the  child  of  pious  parents,  and  as  the  subject 
of  much  biblical  instruction  at  home  and  in  the 

16  » 


186  Mrs.    Sophia   Humphrey. 

church,  it  was  to  be  expected  that  her  thoughts 
would  often  ascend  to  the  Father  of  her  spirit. 

At  school  her  reflections  were  not  unlike  those  of 
most  intelligent  and  carefully-reared  young  people 
of  her  age.  When  for  the  first  time  she  saw  a  per- 
son upon  a  deathbed,  she  called  it  an  "  awful  spec- 
tacle," and  could  not  withhold  her  prayer  that  God 
would  "  make  her  ready  for  such  a  trying  hour." 
So  after  an  evening  party,  where  there  had  been  a 
great  want  of  spirited  conversation,  or  a  great  deal 
of  what  her  companion  called  "  a  flatness,"  she  ex- 
pressed the  wish  that  "  subjects  would  arise  in  such 
places  interesting  to  and  becoming  a  rational  mind." 
The  natural  thirst  of  her  immortality  for  some  object 
adequate  to  meet  its  wants  made  itself  felt  at  this 
period  of  her  life — the  period  when  so  many  aspiring 
souls  feel  the  need  of  something  grander  and  nobler 
than  this  world  can  give. 

Not  until  four  years  after  this  date,  August,  1801, 
do  we  hear  from  her  again.  And  now  the  thoughts 
which,  as  a  school-girl  of  sixteen  years  of  age,  came 
to  her  just  long  enough  to  reveal  their  beauty  and 
majesty,  and  then  passed  away,  take  up  their  abode 
in  her,  widening  her  intellect,  stimulating  her  im- 
agination, quickening  her  conscience,  fortifying  her 
will  and  comforting  her  heart.  She  loves  the 
mountains  now  as  they  point  toward  heaven,  and 


Her  Life   and    Character.  187 

admires  the  glory  of  the  evening  skies.  "  In  the 
solitude  of  the  stage-coach"  she  "  finds  an  opportu- 
nity for  contemplating  nature,"  sees  "flowers  and 
trees  answering  the  end  for  which  they  were  made," 
and  wonders  and  is  sorry  "  that  the  noblest  part  of 
creation,  to  which  all  else  is  subservient,  should 
neither  know  nor  perform  the  part  for  which  it  is 
designed."  Very  decidedly  does  she  express  in  the 
diary  from  which  we  are  quoting,  her  sense  of  the 
insufficiency  of  any  temporal  joy  to  meet  the  deeper 
wants  of  her  spirit.  She  shrinks  from  "  seeking 
gratification  in  objects  which  I  already  find  are  as 
inadequate  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  an  immortal 
mind  as  husks  are  to  satisfy  the  natural  appetite." 
Nor  does  she  hesitate  to  aver  that  "  without  religion 
in  the  soul  there  is  a  void  which  nothing  else  can 
fill." 

Indeed  there  is  dawning  in  her  the  existence  and 
beauty  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  "Lord  fill  my 
soul  with  thy  love,"  is  now  her  prayer.  And  when 
asked  "  whether  she  would  wish  to  be  religious 
were  there  no  future  state?"  she  answered,  "Yes; 
there  appears  to  be  a  fitness  in  serving  and  glorify- 
ing the  God  of  heaven  and  earth,  my  great  Creator, 
Preserver  and  bountiful  Benefactor.  There  is  a 
happiness  in  it  which  I  hope  and  wish  ever  to 
enjoy."  Nor  did  she  desire  this  blessedness  only 


i88  Mrs.    Sophia   Humphrey. 

for  herself.  When  "the  rain  was  falling  refresh- 
ingly upon  the  earth,"  she  writes,  "Oh  that  the 
Lord  would  grant  showers  of  divine  grace  on  the 
hearts  of  the  people !"  About  this  time  she  ex- 
presses very  deep  interest  in  an  account  given  by 
a  neighboring  clergyman  of  the  conversion  of  a 
number  of  persons  in  his  congregation,  especially  in 
the  new  life  of  a  little  boy  of  ten  years  of  age. 

"  Oh,  that,  encouraged  by  this,"  she  writes, 
"  Christians  would  be  oftener  at  the  throne  of  grace, 
imploring,  as  a  great  favor,  that  God  would  pour 
out  his  Spirit !"  On  the  day  of  her  brother's  ordina- 
tion, Nov.  5,  1806,  she  makes  this  record  : 

"  I  feel  as  if  I  could  joyfully  give  him  up  to  God, 
to  be  devoted  to  his  service,  and  to  promote  his 
kingdom  in  the  world." 

"The  ordination  of  my  dear  brother  to  the  pas- 
toral care  of  this  church  and  congregation  binds 
him  to  me  with  a  double  tie.  He  is  both  my  minis- 
ter and  brother." 

Her  desire  now  was  to  come  into  the  closest  pos- 
sible relations  with  the  Redeemer.  "Why  this 
remaining  unbelief?  Why  this  fear?  Why  do  I 
not  come  and  cast  myself  on  Jesus,  believe  on  him, 
hope  in  his  mercy?"  "  May  I  receive  Christ  into 
my  heart,  and  enjoy  sweet  and  holy  communion 
with  him  !" 


Her  Life   and    Character.  189 

"  May  I  see  my  way  clear  to  make  a  public  pro- 
fession of  his  name  !"  She  seeks  her  dear  brother 
again,  and  he  encourages  her.  What  transpired  in 
those  conversations  is  not  recorded.  She  alludes  to 
them  :  "  Had  a  conversation  with  my  brother.  Gave 
him  an  account  of  my  feelings.  Told  him  I  had  a 
faint  hope.  He  had  hopes  of  me.  But  I  would  not 
take  encouragement  from  this.  I  ought  not  to  trust 
to  man's  judgment.  O  Lord,  help  me  !  I  would 
look  into  my  own  heart  and  search  it.  By  the  rules 
of  thy  Word  I  would  compare  myself,  and  know 
what  manner  of  person  I  am."  With  trembling  step 
she  advances.  The  glory  of  the  Lord  appears  at 
times,  and  the  sense  of  his  favor.  "  How  sweet, 
how  endearing,  how  comforting,  how  quickening, 
is  it  to  unite  in  singing  the  praises  of  our  God !" 
Then  on  another  day  a  cloud  comes  :  "  Why  am  I 
thus  unbelieving?  Why  these  doubts?  Why  sepa- 
rated from  God,  from  communion  with  him?  It  is 
sin.  This  body  of  sin  and  death  within  me,  when 
will  it  be  destroyed?  There  are  sins  hidden  from 
my  view  by  my  own  blindness.  O  Lord,  tear  them 
from  my  heart,  however  painful  the  separation,  so 
that  by  any  means  I  may  enjoy  the  display  of  thy 
glory  and  beauty  to  my  mind ;  and  especially  the 
light  of  thy  reconciled  face."  And  her  prayer  is 
granted.  December  comes.  The  divine  Spirit 


190  Mrs.    Sophia   Humphrey. 

again  takes  of  the  things  of  Christ  and  shows  them 
unto  her.  "  I  never  felt  more  ardent  love  to  Christ, 
more  fervent  desire  to  be  like  him ;  to  be  conformed 
to  his  image,  to  serve  and  glorify  him  with  my 
whole  heart."  Nor  does  she  lose  sight  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  and  the  sacred  espousal,  and  mysterious 
unition  comprehended  in  it ;  on  the  contrary,  her  eye 
is  steadily  upon  it,  as  was  that  of  the  ancient  Israelite 
on  the  Holy  of  Holies.  "  Dedicated  to  God  in  bap- 
tism, I  feel  my  covenant  obligation  ;  I  wish  to  renew 
this,  and  dedicate  myself  to  him." 

With  this  month  of  the  year  1806  her  diary 
closes.  But  her  heart  is  moving  on  to  the  sacra- 
ment. On  the  last  leaf  but  one  she  writes :  "  Christ 
has  said,  '  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labor  and  are 
heavy-laden.'  '  For  salvation  he  has  provided  a 
glorious  way  ;  a  way  exactly  fitted  for  such  a  help- 
less creature  as  I  am.'"  And  then,  as  if  in  her  mind 
receiving  and  resting  upon  the  Redeemer  as  he  is 
freely  offered  in  the  Gospel,  she  says:  "O  Lord 
Jesus,  I  come  ;  laden  with  sins,  I  come  ;  pollutions 
have  stained  my  guilty  soul,  yet  if  thou  wilt,  thou 
canst  make  me  clean ;  my  Lord  and  my  God,  I 
believe."  "  The  all-cleansing  fountain  of  thy  blood 
is  sufficient.  The  way  of  atonement  is  full  and 
clear.  Here  would  I  rest.  On  nothing  in  my 
heart  can  I  for  one  moment  rely.  I  cast  myself  on 


Her   Life   and    Character.  191 

Jesus  Christ,  reconciled  and  delighted."  "May 
the  Sun  of  Righteousness  shine  into  my  soul." 

During  the  next  year,  1807,  she  united  with  the 
Church. 

"  He  has  induced  my  heart  publicly,  and  I  hope 
sincerely,  to  set  my  seal  to  his  covenant  of  grace, 
and  unreservedly  to  dedicate  myself  to  him  as  the 
supreme  portion  of  my  soul,"  is  her  statement. 

If  the  feelings  which  have  been  recorded  were 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  superinducing  a  new,  even  a 
divine  life  in  her  soul,  making  her  "  accepted  in 
the  Beloved — to  the  praise  of  the  glory  of  His  grace 
who  predestinated  her  to  the  adoption  of  a  child," 
then  it  was  to  be  expected  that  her  after  years 
would  ripen  and  reveal  the  fruit  of  such  an  election. 
Nor  in  this  was  there  any  disappointment. 

As  early  as  July  24,  1807,  she  writes  to  Mr.  H.  : 
"I  think  it  must  greatly  rejoice  your  heart,  as  I 
trust  it  does  in  some  measure  my  own,  that  God  is 
encouraging  you  to  expect  that  he  is  about  to  carry 
on  a  work  of  grace  among  the  people  of  your  charge. 
I  hope  that  instead  of  considering  yourself  as  '  in 
the  way,'  you  will  be  encouraged  to  exertion  in  so 
glorious  a  cause  as  that  of  the  welfare  of  precious 
and  immortal  souls." 

At  a  later  period  she  writes:  "I  thank  you  for 
the  pleasing  intelligence  you  give  me  respecting  the 


192  Mrs.    Sophia   Humphrey. 

dear  people  of  your  charge  ;  dear  I  hope  they  may 
ever  be  to  each  of  our  hearts,  and  that  I  may  lend 
you  every  possible  assistance  of  which  my  feeble 
endeavors  are  capable,  and  you  be  the  means  of 
feeding  their  souls  with  the  bread  of  life." 

And  again  :  "I  see  how  much  your  heart  is  set 
upon  them ;  I  can  participate  with  you  in  any 
pleasing  appearances  attending  them  or  yourself." 
"That  the  Spirit  of  God  would  make  the  word 
effectual  to  the  conversion  of  many  is  my  ardent  de- 
sire." Often  does  she  speak  now  of  the  "  dis- 
tinguishing goodness  of  a  merciful  and  long-suffer- 
ing God ;"  and  in  January,  1808,  she  wishes  Mr. 
H.  "  a  happy  new  year;"  "  very  happy;"  she  soon 
adds — k*  happy  in  much  calm,  serene,  sweet  com- 
munion with  God,  which  is  joy  and  peace  to  the  soul." 

With  her  characteristic  humility,  she  looks  for- 
ward with  trembling  to  the  burdens  that  "she  ought 
to  and  must  soon  assume."  "  I  am  so  unworthy, 
sometimes  it  almost  sinks  my  spirit  to  think  of 
them.''  "But,"  she  adds,  "  by  divine  assistance  I 
hope  to  be  strengthened."  If  what  we  are  quoting 
seems  to  give  too  sombre  a  view  of  life  for  one  an- 
ticipating a  bridal  very  soon,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  we  are  now  looking  at  the  religious  life  of  your 
grandmother ;  and  that  we  may  not  lay  before  any 
eye  the  wealth  of  sentiment  and  affection  that  gives  a 


Her  Life   and    Character.  193 

rare  value  to  these  early  letters.  Besides,  it  was  the 
well-established  and  often-expressed  conviction  of 
your  grandparents  that  a  full  and  abounding  enjoy- 
ment of  God,  instead  of  detracting  aught  from  the 
choicest  gratifications  to  be  found  in  the  rational 
pleasures  of  time,  only  adds  to  them  by  augment- 
ing the  capacities  of  our  human  nature,  whilst  it 
regulates  and  simplifies  its  thirsts. 

"  That  we  may  '  mark  the  hand  of  our  heavenly 
Father,  and  thus  so  live  that  we  may  most  ex- 
quisitely relish  the  blessings  of  the  world,'  as  you 
expressed  it,  is  my  most  ardent  wish,"  was  the  form 
in  which  her  own  hand  recorded  her  assent  to  a  pro- 
found philosophy,  and  her  faith  in  the  God  who 
made  heaven  and  earth.  And  then  is  added,  "That 
we  may  '  live  as  we  ought' —  as  fellow-citizens  of  the 
New  Jerusalem,  and  fellow-travelers  to  it — is  the 
prayer  of  your  affectionate  friend." 

In  April,  1808,  Miss  Sophia  Porter  was  married 
to  Rev.  Heman  Humphrey  by  her  brother,  Rev. 
Noah  Porter.  Already  had  the  grounds  around  the 
house  at  Fairfield  been  laid  out  and  adorned  with 
more  than  usual  care.  He  who  so  often  calls  her 
his  "greatest  earthly  treasure"  had  done  what  he 
could  to  prepare  the  place  for  one  whom  he  ever 
after  delighted  to  honor ;  and  Nature  withheld  not 
her  aid.  "The  grass  begins  to  look  green  for 

17  N 


1 94  Mrs.    Sophia   Humphrey. 

you,"  Mr.  H.  writes  on  the  3Oth  of  March  ;  "  I  have 
been  trimming  the  trees  ;  the  birds  sing  among  the 
branches,  and  seem  to  say  that  they  will  tune 
their  voices  to  sweeter  notes  when  Sophia  comes. 
Everything  seems  to  smile  around  our  intended 
habitation. 

"The  thoughts  of  your  coming  to  enjoy  these 
pleasant  things  adds  tenfold  charms  to  them  even 
now.  How  charming  will  they  be  when  you  shall 
have  arrived  !  There  is  room  for  the  exercise  of  a 
little  taste,  and  I  would  give  more  for  yours  than  my 
own.  The  present  garden-plot  is  laid  out  into 
squares,  the  alleys  of  which  are  lined  with  rows  of 
English  box.  I  told  you  about  the  two  evergreen 
trees  in  front  of  the  house.  I  intend  to  set  out  the 
woodbine  near  them.  Some  of  my  friends  would 
fain  persuade  me  that  they  wish  to  have  you  come 
almost  as  much  as  I  do.  They  will  not,  however, 
convince  me  of  that." 

Thus  welcomed,  the  young  bride  left  Farming- 
ton,  and  her  brother's  society,  and  her  father's  and 
mother's  house,  and  came  to  the  habitation  prepared 
for  her  by  one  who  never  ceased  to  give  thanks  that 
she  had  been  persuaded  to  do  so.  And  the  piety 
which  shone  so  beautifully  in  her  mother's  house, 
lost  none  of  its  brightness  in  her  own. 

It  manifested  itself  in  the  spirit  with  which  she 


Her   Life   and    Character.  195 

made  that  sacred  home  so  useful,  so  happy.  Gen- 
erous, because  she  could  not  be  otherwise,  when 
the  love  of  God  intensified  this  original  impulse  of 
her  nature,  it  burned  with  new  lustre  and  with  too 
costly  a  flame.  Her  husband  knew  it,  and  has 
recorded  his  testimony.  And  so,  had  they  the  op- 
portunity, would  those  young  people  and  students 
of  Divinity,  to  whom,  by  her  personal  exertions 
and  the  free  hospitality  of  her  house,  she  secured 
an  education.  Nor  was  it  only  in  the  house  that  her 
renovated  affection  found  subjects  for  its  exercise. 
The  people  of  the  towns  in  which  she  lived  and  the 
students  of  the  college  felt  it.  One  of  these  writes  : 
"She  sent  to  me,  when  in  college,  a  book  called 
'  Decapolis,'  with  a  little  note,  containing  a  request 
that  I  would  accept  it  from  her,  and  expressing  a 
wish  for  my  best  welfare ;  the  impression  from  that 
note  and  that  book  never  left  me."  How  large  the 
number  is  that  would  bear  witness  in  similar  form  to 
her  desires  for  their  permanent  and  highest  happi- 
ness !  She  loved  the  Church  also.  It  was  her 
delight  to  "minister  to  the  saints;"  to  make  the 
bread  and  prepare  the  wine  for  the  communion 
table,  and  to  mend  the  clothing  of  the  indigent. 
Deep  in  the  hearts  of  young  men  whose  means  were 
limited,  and  whose  friends  were  few,  is  her  name 
and  memory  engraved. 


196  Mrs.    Sophia   Humphrey. 

Entering  thus  readily  and  largely  into  Christian 
labors,  she  grew  more  and  more  into  the  self-abne- 
gating spirit  of  the  Master,  and  into  the  image  of 
His  holy  temper  and  sympathies. 

Nowhere  did  this  manifest  itself  more  than  in  her 
patience  and  in  her  gratitude.  She  had,  of  course, 
much  to  irritate  and  annoy,  as  have  all  mothers  and 
housekeepers,  from  the  infidelities  of  the  service, 
the  constancy  and  magnitude  of  the  demands,  and 
the  difficulties  of  supply  where  the  household  is 
numerous.  But  in  addition  to  these  not  uncommon 
infelicities,  there  came  upon  her  in  mature  life  a 
calamity  which  deprived  her  of  the  joy  and  strength 
and  ease  of  apprehension  that  belonged  to  all  around 
her.  What  would  she  not  have  given  could  she, 
from  the  fortieth  year  of  her  age  until  her  death, 
have  readily  distinguished  the  voices  of  her  friends, 
her  children,  her  husband,  her  servants,  as  in  utter- 
ance they  addressed  her  !  But  she  could  not.  In 
the  midst  of  her  years  her  hearing  was  impaired. 
And  with  what  an  intelligent  and  beseeching  look 
did  she  often  search  the  countenances  and  watch 
the  lips  of  those  around  her,  in  the  hope  that  she 
might  extract  from  their  faces  the  meaning  of  their 
words !  How  often,  too,  did  she  have  to  turn  that 
expressive  face  away  in  disappointment,  and  direct 
those  eyes  in  gentle  sadness  to  the  ground  !  But 


Her   Life   and    Character.  197 

with  what  patience  did  she  bear  it !  Instead  of 
complaining  that  those  around  her  did  not  exert 
themselves  and  thus  make  her  hear  (as  often  they 
could  not),  she  retired  from  their  presence  to  her 
plain  and  homely  labors,  and  found  her  solace  in 
toiling  for  them.  Under  this  chastisement  her  soul 
grew  strong  for  the  endurance  of  heavy  sorrows. 
She  was  compelled  to  see  Henry  die  in  his  early 
manhood ;  and  John  and  James  and  Mary  in  the 
midst  of  life ;  as  before  this  she  had  buried  two 
young  daughters.  On  these  occasions  she  never 
uttered  a  murmuring  word,  and  scarcely  spoke  aloud 
her  grief.  Her  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  she  went 
about  her  duties  in  quietness,  with  her  head  some- 
what bowed,  as  if  saying,  "  The  Lord  gave  and  the 
Lord  hath  taken  away."  It  was  so  also  when  your 
grandfather  was  taken  sick.  The  tokens  of  pain 
upon  her  features  as  she  stood  and  looked  at  him 
and  took  his  hand,  unable,  as  he  cast  his  last  look 
upon  her,  to  catch  the  words  which  in  weakness  he 
articulated,  seemed  to  say,  If  it  be  possible  let  this 
cup  pass  away ;  but  after  kneeling  by  his  bedside, 
and  then  rising  and  ministering — ministering,  toiling 
— toiling  on,  for  anybody's  relief  but  her  own,  there 
came  over  her  face  the  expression  that  never  after- 
ward entirely  left  it,  of  "  Not  my  will,  but  thine  be 
done." 

17* 


198  Mrs.    Sophia   Humphrey. 

After  this  your  grandmother  continued  with  us  in 
the  enjoyment  of  good  health,  for  a  person  of  her 
age,  for  seven  years  and  eight  months. 

She  took  pleasure  in  seeing  her  friends  ;  went  as 
before  to  the  house  of  God ;  received  her  children 
and  children's  children  at  her  own  home ;  shared  in 
their  joys  ;  took  a  deep  interest  in  their  usefulness  ; 
and  approached  the  close  of  her  earthly  journey 
with  the  serenity  and  ripening  glow  with  which 
spring  and  summer  merge  their  days  of  seed-time 
and  promise  into  the  autumn  of  golden  fruits  and 
grateful  songs. 

On  Sunday,  the  6th  of  December,  1868,  she  was 
prevented  in  consequence  of  a  severe  cold,  from 
going  to  the  sanctuary.  Soon  she  laid  down  upon 
her  couch,  and  then,  early  in  the  evening,  retired 
to  her  bed.  From  this  bed  she  never  rose.  Her 
disease  became  acute  bronchitis.  An  excellent 
physician  and  kind  friends  came  to  her ;  her  two 
remaining  daughters  never  left  her  side  ;  she  con- 
tinued to  grow  weaker,  but  sang  her  song  in  the 
night  from  a  hymn  that  had  become  a  favorite  with 
her,  as  well  it  might : 

"Then  shall  I  hear,  and  see,  and  know 
All  I  desired  or  hoped  below." 

Nor  did  anticipations  alone  fill  her  mind.  Grati- 
tude and  words  of  penitence  came  from  her  lips. 


Her  Life   and    Character.  199 

On  one  day  it  was  "  Lord,  have  mercy  on  me  a  sin- 
ner ;"  on  the  next,  thankfulness  for  favors  in  the 
past  took  possession  of  her ;  until  at  length  in  the 
very  language  in  which,  sixty  years  before,  she  had 
expressed  her  sense  of  the  loving-kindness  of  God 
when  looking  forward  to  her  earthly  bridal,  she  now 
distinctly  articulated  :  "What  shall  I  render  unto  the 
Lord  for  all  his  benefits  to  me?"  as  she  moved  on  to 
the  marriage-supper  of  the  Lamb. 

Having  been  taken  sick  on  the  Sabbath,  she  con- 
tinued through  the  days  of  the  following  week  to 
entertain — and  in  her  occasional  bewilderment,  to 
express — the  desire  that  she  might  go  to  church. 
And  she  was  not  disappointed.  On  Sunday,  the 
i3th  of  December,  1868,  soon  after  the  church  bells 
in  Pittsfield  had  ceased  to  ring,  she  left  these  earthly 
scenes,  no  longer  shut  out  from  the  sweet  melodies 
of  sound,  to  hear  the  music,  and  join  in  the  worship 
of  the  skies. 

And  may  it  not  be  that  the  voice  which  once  wel- 
comed her  so  affectionately  to  the  home  prepared 
for  her  on  earth,  lifted  itself  up  again  in  thanksgiv- 
ing and  praise,  with  that  of  her  brother,  and  of  each 
child  who  had  gone  before,  as  the  Master  of  Assem- 
blies bade  her  welcome  to  the  place  he  had  prepared 

for  her  in  the  mansions  of  the  blessed? 

H.  N. 

PITTSFIELD,  April,  1869. 


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